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Dialogic framing of accounting information systems in social and environmental accounting domains: Lessons from, and for, microfinance

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  • Dillard, Jesse
  • Yuthas, Kristi
  • Baudot, Lisa

Abstract

The successful design, application and evaluation of accounting information systems (AIS) in social and environmental accounting (SEA) domains increasingly requires that stakeholder interests be addressed. Because various stakeholders have competing interests, new thinking about how these can be accommodated is needed. Brown (2009) proposes a dialogic framework following from agonistic democracy, which takes the position that when consensus is not possible, progress can be facilitated through ongoing commitment to accounting processes that represent and accommodate competing perspectives. Previous work in AIS (Blackburn et al., 2014; Dillard and Yuthas, 2013) builds on Brown's work to develop a theoretical perspective useful in the AIS-SEA context that takes pluralism seriously. We extend this line of research by exploring developments in the microfinance industry and illustrate how the agonistic accounting principles can be useful in considering AIS-SEA design, implementation and evaluation as well as the initiation of innovation and change in the industry. Microfinance provides an example of an antagonistic context where the social mission/values come into unambiguous conflict with the economic objectives of microfinance institutions. Agonistics suggests that such conflict, if acknowledged and facilitated, has the potential for fostering innovative responses and reducing the likelihood of one perspective dominating the others. Relating accomplishments in this field to the principles of dialogic accounting demonstrates how this perspective can be incorporated into the design and use of systems that address social and environmental objectives as well as economic ones. We explore both accomplishments and shortcomings in achievement of pluralistic systems in the microfinance domain.

Suggested Citation

  • Dillard, Jesse & Yuthas, Kristi & Baudot, Lisa, 2016. "Dialogic framing of accounting information systems in social and environmental accounting domains: Lessons from, and for, microfinance," International Journal of Accounting Information Systems, Elsevier, vol. 23(C), pages 14-27.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ijoais:v:23:y:2016:i:c:p:14-27
    DOI: 10.1016/j.accinf.2016.10.001
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    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. Judy Brown & Jesse Dillard & Trevor Hopper, 2015. "Accounting, accountants and accountability regimes in pluralistic societies," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 28(5), pages 626-650, June.
    3. 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.
    4. Dillard, Jesse, 2008. "Responding to expanding accountability regimes by re-presenting organizational context," International Journal of Accounting Information Systems, Elsevier, vol. 9(1), pages 21-42.
    5. Joanna Ledgerwood, 2013. "The New Microfinance Handbook : A Financial Market System Perspective," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 12272, December.
    6. Antara Haldar & Joseph Stiglitz, 2015. "Taking Stock of Microfinance," World Economics, World Economics, 1 Ivory Square, Plantation Wharf, London, United Kingdom, SW11 3UE, vol. 16(2), pages 1-10, April.
    7. Morduch, Jonathan, 2000. "The Microfinance Schism," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 28(4), pages 617-629, April.
    8. 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.
    9. 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.
    10. Brown, Judy, 2009. "Democracy, sustainability and dialogic accounting technologies: Taking pluralism seriously," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 20(3), pages 313-342.
    11. 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.
    12. Jesse Dillard & Judy Brown, 2012. "Agonistic Pluralism and Imagining CSEAR into the Future," Social and Environmental Accountability Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(1), pages 3-16, April.
    13. 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.
    14. 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.
    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.
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    Cited by:

    1. Tanima, Farzana Aman & Brown, Judy & Wright, Jan & Mackie, Vera, 2023. "Taking critical dialogic accountability into the field: Engaging contestation around microfinance and women’s empowerment," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    2. 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.
    3. Hamed Samarghandi & Davood Askarany & Bahareh Banitalebi Dehkordi, 2023. "A Hybrid Method to Predict Human Action Actors in Accounting Information System," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-24, January.
    4. Tanima, Farzana Aman & Brown, Judy & Dillard, Jesse, 2020. "Surfacing the political: Women’s empowerment, microfinance, critical dialogic accounting and accountability," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    5. 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).

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