IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/aosoci/v35y2010i4p462-477.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Validation in interpretive management accounting research

Author

Listed:
  • Lukka, Kari
  • Modell, Sven

Abstract

This paper extends and contributes to emerging debates on the validation of interpretive research (IR) in management accounting. We argue that IR has the potential to produce not only subjectivist, emic understandings of actors' meanings, but also explanations, characterised by a certain degree of "thickness". Mobilising the key tenets of the modern philosophical theory of explanation and the notion of abduction, grounded in pragmatist epistemology, we explicate how explanations may be developed and validated, yet remaining true to the core premises of IR. We focus on the intricate relationship between two arguably central aspects of validation in IR, namely authenticity and plausibility. Working on the assumption that validation is an important, but potentially problematic concern in all serious scholarly research, we explore whether and how validation efforts are manifest in IR using two case studies as illustrative examples. Validation is seen as an issue of convincing readers of the authenticity of research findings whilst simultaneously ensuring that explanations are deemed plausible. Whilst the former is largely a matter of preserving the emic qualities of research accounts, the latter is intimately linked to the process of abductive reasoning, whereby different theories are applied to advance thick explanations. This underscores the view of validation as a process, not easily separated from the ongoing efforts of researchers to develop explanations as research projects unfold and far from reducible to mere technicalities of following pre-specified criteria presumably minimising various biases. These properties detract from a view of validation as conforming to pre-specified, stable, and uniform criteria and allow IR to move beyond the "crisis of validity" arguably prevailing in the social sciences.

Suggested Citation

  • Lukka, Kari & Modell, Sven, 2010. "Validation in interpretive management accounting research," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 35(4), pages 462-477, May.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:aosoci:v:35:y:2010:i:4:p:462-477
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0361-3682(09)00101-9
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    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. Anthony Hopwood, 2008. "Changing Pressures on the Research Process: On Trying to Research in an Age when Curiosity is not Enough," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(1), pages 87-96.
    2. Vaivio, J., 2006. "The accounting of "The Meeting": Examining calculability within a "Fluid" local space," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 31(8), pages 735-762, November.
    3. Covaleski, Mark A. & Dirsmith, Mark W., 1986. "The budgetary process of power and politics," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 11(3), pages 193-214, May.
    4. Ahrens, Thomas, 2008. "Overcoming the subjective-objective divide in interpretive management accounting research," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 33(2-3), pages 292-297.
    5. 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.
    6. Jonsson, S., 1998. "Relate management accounting research to managerial work!," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 23(4), pages 411-434, May.
    7. Tomkins, Cyril & Groves, Roger, 1983. "The everyday accountant and researching his reality," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 8(4), pages 361-374, October.
    8. Jonsson, Sten & Macintosh, Norman B., 1997. "CATS, RATS, AND EARS: Making the case for ethnographic accounting research," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 22(3-4), pages 367-386.
    9. Rihab Khalifa & Paolo Quattrone, 2008. "The Governance of Accounting Academia: Issues for a Debate," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(1), pages 65-86.
    10. Ahrens, T., 1996. "Styles of Accountability," Papers 96-119, University of Southampton - Department of Accounting and Management Science.
    11. Kakkuri-Knuuttila, Marja-Liisa & Lukka, Kari & Kuorikoski, Jaakko, 2008. "No premature closures of debates, please: A response to Ahrens," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 33(2-3), pages 298-301.
    12. Cooper, David J. & Hayes, David & Wolf, Frank, 1981. "Accounting in organized anarchies: Understanding and designing accounting systems in ambiguous situations," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 6(3), pages 175-191, July.
    13. Joanne Locke & Alan Lowe, 2008. "Evidence and Implications of Multiple Paradigms in Accounting Knowledge Production," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(1), pages 161-191.
    14. Trevor Hopper & Andrew Powell, 1985. "Making Sense Of Research Into The Organizational And Social Aspects Of Management Accounting: A Review Of Its Underlying Assumptions [1]," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(5), pages 429-465, September.
    15. McCloskey, Donald N, 1983. "The Rhetoric of Economics," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 21(2), pages 481-517, June.
    16. Ahrens, Thomas, 1996. "Styles of accountability," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 21(2-3), pages 139-173.
    17. Ahrens, Thomas & Chapman, Christopher S., 2006. "Doing qualitative field research in management accounting: Positioning data to contribute to theory," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 31(8), pages 819-841, November.
    18. Llewellyn, Sue, 1992. "The role of case study methods in management accounting research: A comment," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 17-31.
    19. Covaleski, Mark A. & Dirsmith, Mark W., 1990. "Dialectic tension, double reflexivity and the everyday accounting researcher: On using qualitative methods," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 15(6), pages 543-573.
    20. Karen Golden-Biddle & Karen Locke, 1993. "Appealing Work: An Investigation of How Ethnographic Texts Convince," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 4(4), pages 595-616, November.
    21. Mats Alvesson & Cynthia Hardy & Bill Harley, 2008. "Reflecting on Reflexivity: Reflexive Textual Practices in Organization and Management Theory," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(3), pages 480-501, May.
    22. Lowe, Alan & Locke, Joanne, 2005. "Perceptions of journal quality and research paradigm: results of a web-based survey of British accounting academics," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 30(1), pages 81-98, January.
    23. Anthony Onwuegbuzie & Nancy Leech, 2007. "Validity and Qualitative Research: An Oxymoron?," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 41(2), pages 233-249, April.
    24. Tomkins, Cyril & Groves, Roger, 1983. ""The everyday accountant and researching his reality": Further thoughts," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 8(4), pages 407-415, October.
    25. Ali M. Elharidy & Brian Nicholson & Robert W. Scapens, 2008. "Using grounded theory in interpretive management accounting research," Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 5(2), pages 139-155, June.
    26. 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.
    27. Dubois, Anna & Gadde, Lars-Erik, 2002. "Systematic combining: an abductive approach to case research," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 55(7), pages 553-560, July.
    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. Ahrens, Thomas & Chapman, Christopher S., 2006. "Doing qualitative field research in management accounting: Positioning data to contribute to theory," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 31(8), pages 819-841, November.
    2. Jørgensen, Brian & Messner, Martin, 2010. "Accounting and strategising: A case study from new product development," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 184-204, February.
    3. 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.
    4. Lukka, Kari, 2014. "Exploring the possibilities for causal explanation in interpretive research," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 39(7), pages 559-566.
    5. Kakkuri-Knuuttila, Marja-Liisa & Lukka, Kari & Kuorikoski, Jaakko, 2008. "No premature closures of debates, please: A response to Ahrens," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 33(2-3), pages 298-301.
    6. Panozzo, Fabrizio, 1997. "The making of the good academic accountant," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 22(5), pages 447-480, July.
    7. Larissa von Alberti‐Alhtaybat & Khaldoon Al‐Htaybat, 2010. "Qualitative accounting research: an account of Glaser's grounded theory," Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 7(2), pages 208-226, June.
    8. Ahrens, Thomas & Mollona, Massimiliano, 2007. "Organisational control as cultural practice--A shop floor ethnography of a Sheffield steel mill," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 32(4-5), pages 305-331.
    9. Parker, Lee D., 2012. "Qualitative management accounting research: Assessing deliverables and relevance," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 54-70.
    10. 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.
    11. Beata Zyznarska-Dworczak, 2018. "The Development Perspectives of Sustainable Management Accounting in Central and Eastern European Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-21, May.
    12. Anne Pezet & Jérémy Morales, 2010. "Les contrôleurs de gestion, « médiateurs » de la financiarisation," Post-Print halshs-00498673, HAL.
    13. Wilkinson, Brett R. & Durden, Chris H., 2015. "Inducing structural change in academic accounting research," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 23-36.
    14. Geert Van Campenhout & Tom Van Caneghem, 2010. "Article Contribution and Subsequent Citation Rates: Evidence from European Accounting Review," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(4), pages 837-855.
    15. Ali M. Elharidy & Brian Nicholson & Robert W. Scapens, 2008. "Using grounded theory in interpretive management accounting research," Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 5(2), pages 139-155, June.
    16. Fasshauer, Ingrid, 2012. "Les interactions entre contrôle et stratégie : redéfinition du rôle des cadres intermédiaires et du levier interactif de contrôle," Economics Thesis from University Paris Dauphine, Paris Dauphine University, number 123456789/11150 edited by Berland, Nicolas.
    17. Dixon, Keith, 2013. "Growth and dispersion of accounting research about New Zealand before and during a National Research Assessment Exercise: Five decades of academic journals bibliometrics," MPRA Paper 51100, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    18. Gendron, Yves & Rodrigue, Michelle, 2021. "On the centrality of peripheral research and the dangers of tight boundary gatekeeping," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    19. Hussain, Simon, 2010. "Accounting journals and the ABS quality ratings," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 42(1), pages 1-16.
    20. Christoph Pelger & Markus Grottke, 2017. "Research diversity in accounting doctoral education: survey results from the German-speaking countries," Business Research, Springer;German Academic Association for Business Research, vol. 10(2), pages 307-336, October.

    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:eee:aosoci:v:35:y:2010:i:4:p:462-477. 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: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/aos .

    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.