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Ethnographic Accounting Research: Field Notes from the Frontier

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  • Pavlo Kalyta
  • Bertrand Malsch

Abstract

Ethnographic fieldwork in accounting is scarce and remains a “frontier” methodology, unfamiliar to most accounting researchers. Building on our field research project on corporate accountability and stakeholder engagement, set in the Canadian Arctic, we illustrate in this article the use and explanatory power of ethnographic methods for studying social groups and individual actors in the broader accounting universe. We share our fieldwork strategies and provide a few practical tips for conducting ethnographic research in both corporate and community environments. We then argue that ethnographies provide accounting researchers with untapped opportunities to discover vast reservoirs of knowledge inaccessible to other research methods, and offer a path to humanize accounting research. L'ethnographie dans la recherche en comptabilité: À la frontière du terrain Résumé La recherche ethnographique en comptabilité est rare. Elle demeure une méthodologie souvent mobilisée de façon « exploratoire », et reste méconnue de la majorité des chercheurs en science comptable. À partir d'une collecte de données dans l'arctique Canadien sur les rapports entre les parties prenantes d'une communauté locale et une compagnie minière, les auteurs illustrent le pouvoir explicatif des ethnographies dans la compréhension du comportement des individus et de l'action collective. Ils mettent notamment en évidence les différentes stratégies d'approche utilisées pour entrer sur le terrain et développer une relation de recherche productive avec les participants à l'étude. En définitive, ils soutiennent que la recherche ethnographique offre aux chercheurs en comptabilité la possibilité d'accéder à un potentiel de savoir encore largement inexploré et d'humaniser davantage le contenu de la recherche comptable.

Suggested Citation

  • Pavlo Kalyta & Bertrand Malsch, 2018. "Ethnographic Accounting Research: Field Notes from the Frontier," Accounting Perspectives, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 17(2), pages 241-252, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:accper:v:17:y:2018:i:2:p:241-252
    DOI: 10.1111/1911-3838.12169
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    1. Bamber, Matthew & Tekathen, Matthäus, 2023. "Beyond the pages of the ‘how-to’ textbook: A study of the lived experiences of the accounting ethnographer," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).

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