Towards interventionist research with theoretical ambition

A distinct strength of interventionist research (IVR) is the ability to establish particularly good access to a research partner organization and collect exceptionally detailed information, which may not be available to researchers who employ other approaches. Yet, a challenge of IVR is to exploit this data-gathering opportunity in full, in order to develop a theoretical contribution. We propose the ‘theoretical focus driven’ mode (TFD mode) as a ‘way of working’ for interventionist research, whereby the chosen (yet potentially flexible) theoretical focus drives the project. The researcher invests extra time up-front to thoughtfully generate and explicate the research questions and theoretical focus. These guide a selective and purposeful data-gathering effort, as well as the nature of the research intervention. At the same time, the researcher remains inspired by the field work and open to changes in the theoretical focus. Indeed, the TFD mode process tends to be iterative, since it is affected not only by the characteristics of abductive theorising, but also by potentially changing priorities of the target organization, and thereby the initial theoretical focus can become empirically unfeasible. Overall, rather than building on the researcher’s enthusiasm for innovative themes in practice, and casting a broad net for data gathering, the TFD researcher capitalises on the potential of IVR by strengthening the theoretical ambition

Domain theory and method theory in management accounting research

Purpose &ndash; The purpose of this paper is to distinguish two roles of theories, domain theory and method theory, and examine their relationships in management accounting research. Are these two roles explicitly distinguished in management accounting studies? Can this be achieved in an unambiguous manner? Where do ambitions for theoretical contribution lie in management accounting studies that employ method theories? Design/methodology/approach &ndash; The authors develop a conceptual framework for analysing possible relationships between domain theories and method theories in studies and illustrate the theoretical arguments with examples from management accounting studies employing Actor-Network Theory (ANT) as their method theory. Findings &ndash; There can be various types of relationships between domain theories and method theories, and the theoretical ambition of the analysed studies typically focused on domain theories. However, ambiguity can exist with regard to the location of a study&#39;s theoretical ambition. Both domain theories and method theories tend to be moving fields, and their interaction can add to this feature. Research limitations/implications &ndash; The suggested conceptual clarification assists in the reconciliation of extreme perspectives that relate to management accounting and theory. It will also help researchers to systematically design their own work and evaluate that of others. An increased understanding of how a field develops as a result of interaction with method theories might perhaps alleviate concerns regarding the value of mobilizing the latter. Originality/value &ndash; The analysis contributes to the on-going debate on the value and effects of employing method theories, or theoretical lenses, in management accounting research. &nbsp;</p

Instrumentalism and the publish-or-perish regime

in the academe, we firstly examine based on which perceptions and interpretations individualresearchers at universities cope with, survive, or even flourish, in the context of the publish-orperishregime. Secondly, we probe, following a critical agenda of fostering non-instrumentalistunderstandings of research, to which extent local conditions may impact these perceptions, interpretations,and ways of coping. We conducted interviews with 32 researchers from six differentresearch units in European universities across all ranks of the academic hierarchy, from first-yearPhD students to very senior professors. Our focal descriptive category is instrumentalism: thedegree to which an instrumentally rational understanding of research as a means of producingpublications as items of countable performance dominates the entire research process from itsvery beginning. In our study we find notably heterogeneous forms of instrumentalism, which wehave termed modes of instrumentalism, from purposely instrumentalist to critical noninstrumentalistmodes. We identify and describe local research cultures as mediating the perceptionsof individual researchers, and thus the influence of the global publish-or-perish regimeon them. Based on our conceptualisation of degrees and modes of instrumentalism and the localresearch cultures we sketch some measures for fostering non-instrumentalist research culturesthat would help in resisting the undesirable effects of the publish or perish regime.</p

Domain theory and method theory revisited: a reply to Lowe, De Loo and Nama

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to provide a response to the commentary of Lowe, De Loo and Nama concerning the authors' previous article, which was published in Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Volume 27 Number 8.Design/methodology/approach - The authors address the main points of the commentary by Lowe et al.Findings - In addressing each of these issues, the authors point out a few misunderstandings included in the critique as well as make an attempt to further clarify the previous argument.Originality/value - The authors maintain that distinguishing between domain theory and method theory in accounting research will be of help to researchers in several ways

The construction of persuasiveness of selfassessment- based post-completion auditing reports

In this study, we investigate how persuasiveness of self-assessment-based post-completion auditing (PCA) reports on capital investment is constructed. We examine what makes companies consider that information in these reports rises to an acceptable quality level. The investigation was motivated by extant agency theory (AT) informed literature suggesting that self-auditing will entail obvious risks for the quality of PCA reports in terms of data manipulation. We employed actor-network theory as our method theory. The empirical evidence of our case study came from 24 semi-structured interviews and the analysis of the construction of 22 PCA reports of strategic investments in one of the major European forest companies. We add to the capital budgeting literature by identifying and discussing the role of various conditions affecting the construction of persuasiveness of PCA reports. We maintain that the existence of three conditions (i.e. an appropriate collective process, alignment with relevant external/internal reference points, and following of formal guidance) can play a major role in facilitating the production of a persuasive PCA report. Additionally, the paper is able to make sense of the complex process of fabricating the persuasiveness of PCA reports, which would remain a black box when examined from the AT viewpoint only.</p

Towards interventionist research with theoretical ambition

A distinct strength of interventionist research (IVR) is the ability to establish particularly good access to a research partner organization and collect exceptionally detailed information, which may not be available to researchers who employ other approaches. Yet, a challenge of IVR is to exploit this data-gathering opportunity in full, in order to develop a theoretical contribution. We propose the ‘theoretical focus driven’ mode (TFD mode) as a ‘way of working’ for interventionist research, where the researcher invests extra time up-front to thoughtfully generate and explicate the research questions and theoretical focus. These drive a selective and focused data-gathering effort, as well as the nature of the research intervention. At the same time, the researcher remains inspired by the field work and open to changes in the theoretical focus. Indeed, the TFD mode process tends to be iterative, since it is affected not only by the characteristics of abductive theorising, but also by potentially changing priorities of the target organization, and thereby the initial theoretical focus can become empirically unfeasible. Overall, rather than building on the researcher’s enthusiasm for innovative themes in practice, and casting a broad net for data gathering, the TFD researcher capitalises on the potential of IVR by strengthening the theoretical ambition.</p

Combining actor-network theory with interventionist research: present state and future potential

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine the philosophical and practical compatibility of actor-network theory (ANT) and interventionist research (IVR) and search for explanations for their scant combined use. The scope of investigation is limited to accounting, management and organization studies (MOS), but the findings are believed to be applicable in other social sciences as well.Design/methodology/approach - An analysis is conducted of accounting and MOS research in addition to interviewing eight accounting scholars who have applied IVR and/or ANT in their research.Findings - A comparison of the philosophical and other features of ANT and IVR suggests that they should be relatively easily combinable in studies. Based on interview material, three types of barriers to combining ANT and IVR are identified: perceived epistemological incompatibility, fear of going native or losing neutrality and academic tribes. However, subsequent analysis indicates that none of these forms an insurmountable obstacle to the combination.Research limitations/implications - The combined application of ANT and IVR could benefit both IVR and ANT researchers in management accounting as it would enable them to conduct theoretically grounded studies on dynamic processes, such as the emergence and implementation of accounting innovations, to pose original research questions and to find new perspectives to accounting phenomena.Practical implications - Employing ANT and IVR in combination could increase organizational interest in management accounting research.Originality/value - The paper contributes to the discussion on the compatibility of different research approaches and highlights ways in which researchers could benefit from combining ANT and IVR.</p