The purpose of this paper is to provide a commentary on “Qualitative management accounting research: rationale, pitfalls and potential”, a paper by Juhani Vaivio.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide a commentary on “Qualitative management accounting research: rationale, pitfalls and potential”, a paper by Juhani Vaivio.
Design/methodology/approach
The approach takes the form of a critical reading of Vaivio's paper.
Findings
The paper emphasises the role of other groups interested in the practice and study of management accounting. Whilst frequently an individual activity, the research can be stronger through an awareness, at all stages, of how one's interests might engage with the interests of others – not in a quest for uniformity, but rather for mutual learning.
Originality/value
The paper offers a unifying theme for approaching and understanding the wide‐ranging issues raised by Vaivio.
Details
Keywords
This paper's purpose is to provide a commentary on “Qualitative management accounting research: rationale, pitfalls and potential,” a paper by Juhani Vaivio.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper's purpose is to provide a commentary on “Qualitative management accounting research: rationale, pitfalls and potential,” a paper by Juhani Vaivio.
Design/methodology/approach
The approach is to draw on alternative research paradigms to expand the definition and discussion of qualitative research in management accounting.
Findings
The paper endorses many of the prescriptions in Vaivio but expands the definition and discussion of qualitative research in management accounting to recognize the blurred boundaries with field research more generally, and to be more inclusive of qualitative field research from a positivist/functionalist perspective. Similarly, the need for qualitative research to challenge textbook, economics and consulting representations of management accounting is acknowledged, but the range of catalysts is expanded to highlight the potential for qualitative research building on both qualitative and quantitative extant research. This paper also seeks to broaden the discussion of legitimate study design characteristics and data collection methods, and to stress the importance of matching research design with research question.
Originality/value
The paper stresses the value of pluralism and inclusiveness in both methodological and method choices.
Details
Keywords
The paper aims to provide an overview of the rationale for qualitative research in management accounting. It discusses how qualitative research could serve the development of…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to provide an overview of the rationale for qualitative research in management accounting. It discusses how qualitative research could serve the development of theory, and provides guiding principles for qualitative investigation. It also seeks to identify common problems in qualitative studies and lays out avenues for further qualitative inquiry.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper relies on critical reflection and deductive logic in its discussion, drawing on a wide range of theoretical pronouncements and methodological literature, as well as on some illustrative field studies in management accounting.
Findings
The paper opens a broad panorama: it emphasizes field research as a necessary counterweight to textbook appreciations of management accounting, to idealized economic models and to consultancy‐oriented agenda. It identifies how field research serves theory development in different ways, providing a set of practical principles which assist qualitative efforts. The paper also specifies pitfalls in qualitative studies and shows areas where the future potential of qualitative investigations can be focused.
Practical implications
This is a paper that motivates the “qualitative” management accounting scholar. But it also assists in a pragmatic way the qualitatively oriented management accounting scholar – especially someone with little prior experience in empirical fieldwork and in the theoretical interpretation of qualitative data.
Originality/value
The paper provides a source of inspiration, an instructive reflection and a practical guide for the qualitatively oriented, but still somewhat hesitant, management accounting scholar.
Details
Keywords
Abstract
Details
Keywords
Deryl Northcott and Bill Doolin
The paper's aim is to reflect on the progress of the journal Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management since its inception in 2004.
Abstract
Purpose
The paper's aim is to reflect on the progress of the journal Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management since its inception in 2004.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper reviews the type of contributor to the journal, the subjects published and the qualitative research approaches covered in the journal.
Findings
QRAM has an international profile and an increasing readership. It remains both multi‐ and inter‐disciplinary, attracting submissions from a wide range of accounting and management subjects, as well as papers with an explicit methodological focus. QRAM continues to encourage authors to engage with the practical and methodological aspects of doing qualitative research.
Originality/value
This work provides a timely reflection on the journal's journey so far and the opportunities that lie ahead.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this paper is to examine the philosophical and practical compatibility of actor-network theory (ANT) and interventionist research (IVR) and search for explanations…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the philosophical and practical compatibility of actor-network theory (ANT) and interventionist research (IVR) and search for explanations for their scant combined use. The scope of investigation is limited to accounting, management and organization studies (MOS), but the findings are believed to be applicable in other social sciences as well.
Design/methodology/approach
An analysis is conducted of accounting and MOS research in addition to interviewing eight accounting scholars who have applied IVR and/or ANT in their research.
Findings
A comparison of the philosophical and other features of ANT and IVR suggests that they should be relatively easily combinable in studies. Based on interview material, three types of barriers to combining ANT and IVR are identified: perceived epistemological incompatibility, fear of going native or losing neutrality and academic tribes. However, subsequent analysis indicates that none of these forms an insurmountable obstacle to the combination.
Research limitations/implications
The combined application of ANT and IVR could benefit both IVR and ANT researchers in management accounting as it would enable them to conduct theoretically grounded studies on dynamic processes, such as the emergence and implementation of accounting innovations, to pose original research questions and to find new perspectives to accounting phenomena.
Practical implications
Employing ANT and IVR in combination could increase organizational interest in management accounting research.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to the discussion on the compatibility of different research approaches and highlights ways in which researchers could benefit from combining ANT and IVR.