IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/bracre/v38y2006i1p1-30.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Understanding management accounting practices: A personal journey

Author

Listed:
  • Scapens, Robert W.

Abstract

This paper reviews the changes which have taken place in management accounting research over the last 35 years. It traces the author's personal journey as a management accounting researcher and emphasises the shift which has taken place in what it means to understand management accounting practices. It argues that to make sense of diversity in management accounting practices we need to understand the complex mish-mash of inter-related influences which shape practices in individual organisations. It outlines the contribution which institutional theories can make to understanding this mish-mash of complexity. In particular, it reviews the achievements of the Burns and Scapens framework (2000) for studying management accounting change and describes some of its limitations and extensions; viz., the interplay of internal and external institutions; the importance of trust in accountants; the impact of circuits of power; and the need to study the role of agency in institutional change. It concludes that research in recent years has provided a much clearer understanding of the processes which shape management accounting practices; but the challenge for the future is to use this theoretically informed understanding to provide relevant and useful insights for management accounting practitioners.

Suggested Citation

  • Scapens, Robert W., 2006. "Understanding management accounting practices: A personal journey," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 1-30.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:bracre:v:38:y:2006:i:1:p:1-30
    DOI: 10.1016/j.bar.2005.10.002
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0890838905000673
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.bar.2005.10.002?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    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. van der Meer-Kooistra, Jeltje & Vosselman, Ed G. J., 2000. "Management control of interfirm transactional relationships: the case of industrial renovation and maintenance," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 51-77, January.
    2. Dale Jorgenson, 1967. "The Theory of Investment Behavior," NBER Chapters, in: Determinants of Investment Behavior, pages 129-175, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Covaleski, Mark A. & Dirsmith, Mark W. & Michelman, Jeffrey E., 1993. "An institutional theory perspective on the DRG framework, case-mix accounting systems and health-care organizations," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 65-80, January.
    4. Scapens, Robert W. & Macintosh, Norman B., 1996. "Structure and agency in management accounting research: A response to Boland's interpretive act," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 21(7-8), pages 675-690.
    5. Robert W. Scapens, 1984. "Management Accounting — A Survey Paper," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Management Accounting, Organizational Theory and Capital Budgeting, chapter 2, pages 15-95, Palgrave Macmillan.
    6. David, Paul A, 1985. "Clio and the Economics of QWERTY," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 75(2), pages 332-337, May.
    7. Baxter, Jane & Chua, Wai Fong, 2003. "Alternative management accounting research--whence and whither," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 28(2-3), pages 97-126.
    8. Roberts, John & Scapens, Robert, 1985. "Accounting systems and systems of accountability -- understanding accounting practices in their organisational contexts," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 10(4), pages 443-456, October.
    9. Covaleski, Mark A. & Dirsmith, Mark W., 1983. "Budgeting as a means for control and loose coupling," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 8(4), pages 323-340, October.
    10. Herbert A. Simon, 1955. "A Behavioral Model of Rational Choice," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 69(1), pages 99-118.
    11. Covaleski, Mark A. & Dirsmith, Mark W., 1988. "The use of budgetary symbols in the political arena: An historically informed field study," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 13(1), pages 1-24, January.
    12. Benston, George J. & Hartgraves, Al L., 2002. "Enron: what happened and what we can learn from it," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 21(2), pages 105-127.
    13. Tomkins, Cyril, 2001. "Interdependencies, trust and information in relationships, alliances and networks," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 26(2), pages 161-191, March.
    14. Joao A. Ribeiro & Robert W. Scapens, 2004. "Power, ERP systems and resistance to management accounting: a case study," FEP Working Papers 141, Universidade do Porto, Faculdade de Economia do Porto.
    15. Macintosh, Norman B. & Scapens, Robert W., 1990. "Structuration theory in management accounting," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 15(5), pages 455-477.
    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. Kilfoyle, Eksa & Richardson, Alan J., 2011. "Agency and structure in budgeting: Thesis, antithesis and synthesis," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 22(2), pages 183-199.
    2. Baxter, Jane & Chua, Wai Fong, 2003. "Alternative management accounting research--whence and whither," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 28(2-3), pages 97-126.
    3. Moore, David R.J., 2011. "Structuration theory: The contribution of Norman Macintosh and its application to emissions trading," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 22(2), pages 212-227.
    4. Englund, Hans & Gerdin, Jonas, 2008. "Structuration theory and mediating concepts: Pitfalls and implications for management accounting research," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 19(8), pages 1122-1134.
    5. Englund, Hans & Gerdin, Jonas, 2014. "Structuration theory in accounting research: Applications and applicability," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 25(2), pages 162-180.
    6. Robalo, Rui, 2014. "Explanations for the gap between management accounting rules and routines: An institutional approach," Revista de Contabilidad - Spanish Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 88-97.
    7. Englund, Hans & Gerdin, Jonas & Burns, John, 2011. "25 Years of Giddens in accounting research: Achievements, limitations and the future," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 36(8), pages 494-513.
    8. Coad, Alan F. & Glyptis, Loukas G., 2014. "Structuration: A position–practice perspective and an illustrative study," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 25(2), pages 142-161.
    9. repec:dau:papers:123456789/2860 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Norma Pontet Ubal, 2016. "Cost Accounting Systems and Institutional Theory: Analysis in a Uruguayan Terminal Port," International Journal of Management Sciences, Research Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 7(5), pages 249-263.
    11. Constable, Philip & Kuasirikun, Nooch, 2020. "From cosmological to commercial form: A Buddhist theory of ‘form’, ‘space’ and ‘stream of re-becoming’ in mid-19th century Thai accounting," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    12. Scapens, Robert W., 1992. "The role of case study methods in management accounting research: A personal reflection and reply," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 24(4), pages 369-383.
    13. Miller, Peter & Kurunmäki, Liisa & O'Leary, Ted, 2008. "Accounting, hybrids and the management of risk," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 33(7-8), pages 942-967.
    14. Bala Balachandran, 2007. "Imperialismo occidental y contabilidad en Oriente: La historia del Instituto de contadores de gestión autorizados de Sri Lanka," Revista Facultad de Ciencias Económicas, Universidad Militar Nueva Granada, December.
    15. Caglio, Ariela & Ditillo, Angelo, 2008. "A review and discussion of management control in inter-firm relationships: Achievements and future directions," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 33(7-8), pages 865-898.
    16. Wai Fong Chua & Habib Mahama, 2007. "The Effect of Network Ties on Accounting Controls in a Supply Alliance: Field Study Evidence," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 24(1), pages 47-86, March.
    17. Walid Cheffi, 2008. "Etude Des Roles De La Comptabilite De Gestion Pour Les Managers : Le Cas D'Un Grand Groupe Automobile," Post-Print halshs-00522472, HAL.
    18. Kakkuri-Knuuttila, Marja-Liisa & Lukka, Kari & Kuorikoski, Jaakko, 2008. "Straddling between paradigms: A naturalistic philosophical case study on interpretive research in management accounting," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 33(2-3), pages 267-291.
    19. Scapens, Robert W. & Macintosh, Norman B., 1996. "Structure and agency in management accounting research: A response to Boland's interpretive act," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 21(7-8), pages 675-690.
    20. Claudia Barrios Alvarez & Yaismir Adriana Rivera Arrubla, 2010. "Los sistemas contables administrativos: hacia la conformación de un programa de investigación desde la teoría de la estructuración," Revista Facultad de Ciencias Económicas, Universidad Militar Nueva Granada, December.
    21. Claire Dambrin & Caroline Virginie Lambert & Samuel Sponem, 2005. "Contrôle Et Changement : Une Perspective Néoinstitutionnelle," Post-Print halshs-00581182, HAL.

    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:eee:bracre:v:38:y:2006:i:1:p:1-30. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/the-british-accounting-review .

    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.