IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/jomstd/v52y2015i7p961-985.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Dialogic Accountings for Stakeholders: On Opening Up and Closing Down Participatory Governance

Author

Listed:
  • Judy Brown
  • Jesse Dillard

Abstract

type="main"> Interpretivist and critical accounting researchers have long challenged the shareholder focus of conventional accounting, calling for new approaches that promote accountability to stakeholders and participatory governance. One proposal is for dialogic accountings that take pluralism seriously and enable critical reflection on organizational practices from diverse socio-political perspectives. Dialogic accounting aims to counter narrow managerialist framings and address constituencies poorly served by traditional accounting. However, those favouring pluralist approaches face significant challenges in addressing entrenched ideologies and power relations. Rather than trying to address these challenges solely from within accounting, much can be learned from disciplinary fields that demonstrate sustained interest in pluralistic analysis and engagement. Here, we focus on the insights science and technology studies (STS) provides on opening up and closing down participatory governance, understanding knowledge-power dynamics and implications for stakeholder value creation.

Suggested Citation

  • Judy Brown & Jesse Dillard, 2015. "Dialogic Accountings for Stakeholders: On Opening Up and Closing Down Participatory Governance," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(7), pages 961-985, November.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:jomstd:v:52:y:2015:i:7:p:961-985
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1111/joms.12153
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hines, Ruth D., 1991. "The FASB's conceptual framework, financial accounting and the maintenance of the social world," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 16(4), pages 313-331.
    2. Michael C. Jensen, 2010. "Value Maximization, Stakeholder Theory, and the Corporate Objective Function," Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Morgan Stanley, vol. 22(1), pages 32-42, January.
    3. Lehman, Glen, 1999. "Disclosing new worlds: a role for social and environmental accounting and auditing," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 24(3), pages 217-241, April.
    4. Michelle Greenwood, 2007. "Stakeholder Engagement: Beyond the Myth of Corporate Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 74(4), pages 315-327, September.
    5. Cooper, David J. & Sherer, Michael J., 1984. "The value of corporate accounting reports: Arguments for a political economy of accounting," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 9(3-4), pages 207-232, October.
    6. Andrew Crane & Trish Ruebottom, 2011. "Stakeholder Theory and Social Identity: Rethinking Stakeholder Identification," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 102(1), pages 77-87, March.
    7. Jan Bebbington & Judy Brown & Bob Frame & Ian Thomson, 2007. "Theorizing engagement: the potential of a critical dialogic approach," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 20(3), pages 356-381, June.
    8. David J. Cooper & Wayne Morgan, 2013. "Meeting the evolving corporate reporting needs of government and society: arguments for a deliberative approach to accounting rule making," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(4), pages 418-441, August.
    9. Judy Brown, 2010. "Accounting and visual cultural studies: potentialities, challenges and prospects," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 23(4), pages 482-505, May.
    10. Judy Brown & Jesse Dillard, 2014. "Integrated reporting: On the need for broadening out and opening up," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 27(7), pages 1120-1156, August.
    11. Kilby, Patrick, 2006. "Accountability for Empowerment: Dilemmas Facing Non-Governmental Organizations," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 34(6), pages 951-963, June.
    12. Goodpaster, Kenneth E., 1991. "Business Ethics and Stakeholder Analysis," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 1(1), pages 53-73, January.
    13. Gray, Rob, 2002. "The social accounting project and Accounting Organizations and Society Privileging engagement, imaginings, new accountings and pragmatism over critique?," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 27(7), pages 687-708, October.
    14. Frame, Bob & Brown, Judy, 2008. "Developing post-normal technologies for sustainability," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(2), pages 225-241, April.
    15. Dillard, Jesse & Roslender, Robin, 2011. "Taking pluralism seriously: Embedded moralities in management accounting and control systems," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 22(2), pages 135-147.
    16. Dillard, Jesse & Yuthas, Kristi, 2013. "Critical dialogics, agonistic pluralism, and accounting information systems," International Journal of Accounting Information Systems, Elsevier, vol. 14(2), pages 113-119.
    17. Kathryn Davidson, 2011. "Reporting Systems for Sustainability: What Are They Measuring?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 100(2), pages 351-365, January.
    18. Unerman, Jeffrey & Bennett, Mark, 2004. "Increased stakeholder dialogue and the internet: towards greater corporate accountability or reinforcing capitalist hegemony?," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 29(7), pages 685-707, October.
    19. Brown, Judy, 2009. "Democracy, sustainability and dialogic accounting technologies: Taking pluralism seriously," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 20(3), pages 313-342.
    20. Williams, Robin & Edge, David, 1996. "The social shaping of technology," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 25(6), pages 865-899, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Blackburn, Nivea & Brown, Judy & Dillard, Jesse & Hooper, Val, 2014. "A dialogical framing of AIS–SEA design," International Journal of Accounting Information Systems, Elsevier, vol. 15(2), pages 83-101.
    2. Sorola, Matthew, 2022. "Q methodology to conduct a critical study in accounting: A Q study on accountants’ perspectives of social and environmental reporting," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    3. Dillard, Jesse & Vinnari, Eija, 2019. "Critical dialogical accountability: From accounting-based accountability to accountability-based accounting," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 16-38.
    4. Vinnari, Eija & Dillard, Jesse, 2016. "(ANT)agonistics: Pluralistic politicization of, and by, accounting and its technologies," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 25-44.
    5. Brown, Judy, 2017. "Democratizing accounting: Reflections on the politics of “old” and “new” pluralisms," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 20-46.
    6. Brown, Judy, 2009. "Democracy, sustainability and dialogic accounting technologies: Taking pluralism seriously," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 20(3), pages 313-342.
    7. O'Dwyer, Brendan & Unerman, Jeffrey, 2016. "Fostering rigour in accounting for social sustainability," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 32-40.
    8. Alawattage, Chandana & Azure, John De-Clerk, 2021. "Behind the World Bank’s ringing declarations of “social accountability”: Ghana’s public financial management reform," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    9. Brown, Judy & Tregidga, Helen, 2017. "Re-politicizing social and environmental accounting through Rancière: On the value of dissensus," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 1-21.
    10. Gallhofer, Sonja & Haslam, Jim, 2019. "Some reflections on the construct of emancipatory accounting: Shifting meaning and the possibilities of a new pragmatism," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    11. George, Sendirella & Brown, Judy & Dillard, Jesse, 2023. "Social movement activists’ conceptions of political action and counter-accounting through a critical dialogic accounting and accountability lens," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    12. Emilio Passetti & Lara Bianchi & Massimo Battaglia & Marco Frey, 2019. "When Democratic Principles are not Enough: Tensions and Temporalities of Dialogic Stakeholder Engagement," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 155(1), pages 173-190, March.
    13. Brown, Judy & Dillard, Jesse, 2013. "Critical accounting and communicative action: On the limits of consensual deliberation," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 24(3), pages 176-190.
    14. Alawattage, Chandana & Fernando, Susith, 2017. "Postcoloniality in corporate social and environmental accountability," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 1-20.
    15. Molisa, Pala, 2011. "A spiritual reflection on emancipation and accounting," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 22(5), pages 453-484.
    16. Brown, Judy & Dillard, Jesse, 2013. "Agonizing over engagement: SEA and the “death of environmentalism” debates," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 1-18.
    17. Mäkelä, Hannele, 2013. "On the ideological role of employee reporting," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 24(4), pages 360-378.
    18. Maurizio Cisi & Francesca Alice Centrone & Laura Corazza, 2020. "Does the Integrated Reporting?s definition of human capital fit with the HR manager?s perspective?," FINANCIAL REPORTING, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2020(2), pages 5-32.
    19. Godowski, Christophe & Nègre, Emmanuelle & Verdier, Marie-Anne, 2020. "Toward dialogic accounting? Public accountants’ assistance to works councils − A tool between hope and illusion," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    20. Nyamori, Robert Ochoki & Lawrence, Stewart R. & Perera, Hector B., 2012. "Revitalising local democracy: A social capital analysis in the context of a New Zealand local authority," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 23(7), pages 572-594.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:jomstd:v:52:y:2015:i:7:p:961-985. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0022-2380 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.