The Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal Community in its 30th year
Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal
ISSN: 0951-3574
Article publication date: 16 October 2017
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the origins and development of the “Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal (AAAJ) Community”, a flourishing international interdisciplinary accounting research community. This scholarly community has emerged over some 30 years from the publication in 1988 of the inaugural issue of AAAJ under the joint editorship of James Guthrie and Lee Parker. This historical account discusses the motivation for establishing the journal and the important publishing initiatives, developments and trends across this period. The study positions the journal as a key thought leader, the catalyst for other Community activities such as the Asia-Pacific Interdisciplinary Research in Accounting conference.
Design/methodology/approach
The investigation involved a selective review of the contents of AAAJ, particularly the annual editorials published since inception, and other relevant literature, analysis of the main research themes and the most cited papers, and oral history interviews with the joint editors. The future prospects for the AAAJ Community are addressed.
Findings
The AAAJ Community has shaped and led developments in interdisciplinary accounting research. Recognised for innovation and with a reputation for nurturing scholars, AAAJ continues to grow in stature as one of the world’s leading accounting journals, challenging the status quo and fostering inclusive scholarship.
Research limitations/implications
The study does not examine the journal’s publication patterns nor assess in detail the research studies that have been published in the journal.
Originality/value
The study recognises AAAJ as central to the development of an interdisciplinary accounting research community, firmly located in the sociological, critical and interpretative tradition also associated with some other leading accounting journals.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors thank the editors, James Guthrie and Lee Parker, for their interviews and for responding to enquiries, Gloria Parker and Rainbow Shum for providing information about the administrative management of the journal, Richard Laughlin for furnishing us with copies of historical correspondence, and two anonymous reviewers for their constructive and supportive comments. The authors also wish to thank the many members of the AAAJ Community whose conversations over several decades have informed our research. All errors and misinterpretations are our own responsibility.
Research funding: no external research funding was received in respect of this paper.
Citation
Carnegie, G.D. and Napier, C.J. (2017), "The
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2017, Emerald Publishing Limited