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Empirical managerial accounting research: are we just describing management consulting practice?

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  • Christopher Ittner
  • David Larcker

Abstract

This short commentary responds to several issues raised in Zimmerman (2001). We address Zimmerman's criticisms that managerial accounting studies are purely descriptive, conducted without an underlying theory, and unguided by research hypotheses. We also discuss our views regarding the importance of practice-oriented research for understanding managerial accounting choices and for testing economic and non-economic theories. Finally, we highlight some of the new directions in the finance literature, and their relevance for managerial accounting research.

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  • Christopher Ittner & David Larcker, 2002. "Empirical managerial accounting research: are we just describing management consulting practice?," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 11(4), pages 787-794.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:euract:v:11:y:2002:i:4:p:787-794
    DOI: 10.1080/0963818022000047082
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Ittner, Christopher D. & Larcker, David F., 2001. "Assessing empirical research in managerial accounting: a value-based management perspective," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(1-3), pages 349-410, December.
    2. Malmi, Teemu, 1999. "Activity-based costing diffusion across organizations: an exploratory empirical analysis of Finnish firms," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 24(8), pages 649-672, November.
    3. Lambert, Richard A., 2001. "Contracting theory and accounting," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(1-3), pages 3-87, December.
    4. Edward P. Lazear, 2000. "Economic Imperialism," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 115(1), pages 99-146.
    5. Christopher D. Ittner & William N. Lanen & David F. Larcker, 2002. "The Association Between Activity‐Based Costing and Manufacturing Performance," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(3), pages 711-726, June.
    6. Anderson, Shannon W. & Young, S. Mark, 1999. "The impact of contextual and process factors on the evaluation of activity-based costing systems," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 24(7), pages 525-559, October.
    7. Graham, John R. & Harvey, Campbell R., 2001. "The theory and practice of corporate finance: evidence from the field," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(2-3), pages 187-243, May.
    8. Ittner, CD & Larcker, DF, 1995. "Total quality management and the choice of information and reward systems," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33, pages 1-34.
    9. Zimmerman, Jerold L., 2001. "Conjectures regarding empirical managerial accounting research," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(1-3), pages 411-427, December.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Jana Fibírová, 2008. "The Competitive Advantage of Management Accounting [Konkurenční výhoda manažerského účetnictví]," Český finanční a účetní časopis, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2008(2), pages 78-90.
    3. Nimnual Visedsun & Kanitsorn Terdpaopong, 2021. "The Effects of the Strategy and Goal on Business Performance as Mediated by Management Accounting Systems," Economies, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-17, October.
    4. Mary A. Malina & Hanne S.O. Nørreklit & Frank H. Selto, 2011. "Lessons learned: advantages and disadvantages of mixed method research," Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 8(1), pages 59-71, April.
    5. María Luisa Pajuelo Moreno, 2013. "Assessment of the Impact of Business Activity in Sustainability Terms. Empirical Confirmation of Its Determination in Spanish Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 5(6), pages 1-32, May.
    6. Carolyn Stringer, 2007. "Empirical performance management research: observations fromAOSandMAR," Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 4(2), pages 92-114, June.
    7. Collin, Sven-Olof Yrjö & Tagesson, Torbjörn & Andersson, Anette & Cato, Joosefin & Hansson, Karin, 2009. "Explaining the choice of accounting standards in municipal corporations: Positive accounting theory and institutional theory as competitive or concurrent theories," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 141-174.
    8. Marina Godinho Antunes & Joaquín Texeira Quirós & Maria do Rosáirio Texeira Fernandes Justino, 2018. "Role of Management Control Systems in Quality, Innovation and Organizational Performance in Portugal SMES Companies," International Journal of Innovation and Technology Management (IJITM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 15(02), pages 1-22, April.
    9. Marco Gatti, 2018. "The Impact of Management Accounting Research: An Analysis of the Past and a Look at the Future," International Journal of Business and Management, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 13(5), pages 1-47, March.
    10. Deryl Northcott & Simon Linacre, 2010. "Producing Spaces for Academic Discourse: The Impact of Research Assessment Exercises and Journal Quality Rankings," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 20(1), pages 38-54, March.
    11. Manthei, Kathrin & Sliwka, Dirk & Vogelsang, Timo, 2021. "Information Provision, Incentives, and Attention: A Field Experiment on Facilitating and Influencing Managers' Decisions," IZA Discussion Papers 14199, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. Rouven Trapp & Christoph Endenich & Andreas Hoffjan, 2014. "Towards Intellectual Monism? An Institutional Perspective on Management Accounting Research," Working Papers 2014-ACF-04, IESEG School of Management.

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