IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/bracre/v39y2007i4p271-289.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Critical reflections on research approaches, accounting regulation and the regulation of accounting

Author

Listed:
  • Laughlin, Richard

Abstract

The design and choice of research approaches, the nature of accounting regulation and the reactions to these regulations in organisations, involving, in effect, the regulation of accounting, are three themes of considerable importance in accounting research. They are the three themes that have dominated the research agenda of the author throughout his academic career. This paper explores the nature of these three key research themes developing some critical reflections on what has been discovered about each of these themes using the author's sole and joint research and publications as a vehicle for this analysis.

Suggested Citation

  • Laughlin, Richard, 2007. "Critical reflections on research approaches, accounting regulation and the regulation of accounting," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 39(4), pages 271-289.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:bracre:v:39:y:2007:i:4:p:271-289
    DOI: 10.1016/j.bar.2007.08.004
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0890838907000625
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.bar.2007.08.004?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    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. Robson, Keith & Willmott, Hugh & Cooper, David & Puxty, Tony, 1994. "The ideology of professional regulation and the markets for accounting labour: Three episodes in the recent history of the U.K. accountancy profession," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 19(6), pages 527-553, August.
    2. Meyer, John W., 1986. "Social environments and organizational accounting," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 11(4-5), pages 345-356, July.
    3. Barreiros, Lídia., 1985. "Towards social accounting," ILO Working Papers 992431063402676, International Labour Organization.
    4. Gallhofer, Sonja & Haslam, James, 1991. "The aura of accounting in the context of a crisis: Germany and the first world war," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 16(5-6), pages 487-520.
    5. Hopwood, Anthony G., 1983. "On trying to study accounting in the contexts in which it operates," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 8(2-3), pages 287-305, May.
    6. Hopwood, Anthony G., 1985. "The tale of a committee that never reported: Disagreements on intertwining accounting with the social," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 10(3), pages 361-377, July.
    7. Lowe, E. A. & Puxty, A. G. & Laughlin, R. C., 1983. "Simple theories for complex processes: Accounting policy and the market for myopia," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 2(1), pages 19-42.
    8. Power, Michael & Laughlin, Richard, 1996. "Habermas, law and accounting," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 21(5), pages 441-465, July.
    9. Jane Broadbent & Richard Laughlin, 2005. "Government concerns and tensions in accounting standard-setting: the case of accounting for the Private Finance Initiative in the UK," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(3), pages 207-228.
    10. 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.
    11. Laughlin, Richard C., 1987. "Accounting systems in organisational contexts: A case for critical theory," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 12(5), pages 479-502, August.
    12. Arnold, Patricia J. & Sikka, Prem, 2001. "Globalization and the state-profession relationship: the case the Bank of Credit and Commerce International," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 26(6), pages 475-499, August.
    13. Burchell, Stuart & Clubb, Colin & Hopwood, Anthony G., 1985. "Accounting in its social context: Towards a history of value added in the United Kingdom," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 10(4), pages 381-413, October.
    14. Gray, Rob, 2002. "The social accounting project and Accounting Organizations and Society Privileging engagement, imaginings, new accountings and pragmatism over critique?," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 27(7), pages 687-708, October.
    15. Tomkins, Cyril & Groves, Roger, 1983. "The everyday accountant and researching his reality," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 8(4), pages 361-374, October.
    16. Hopwood, Anthony G., 1978. "Towards an organizational perspective for the study of accounting and information systems," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 3(1), pages 3-13, February.
    17. Arjo Klamer & Donald McCloskey, 1992. "Accounting as the master metaphor of economics," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 1(1), pages 145-160.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Vassili Joannides & Danture Wickramasinghe & Nicolas Berland, 2012. "Critiques On Gray-Hofstede'S Model: What Impact On Cross-Cultural Accounting Research?," Grenoble Ecole de Management (Post-Print) hal-00690933, HAL.
    2. Richard Laughlin, 2010. "A comment on “Towards a paradigmatic foundation for accounting practice”," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 23(6), pages 759-763, August.
    3. repec:dau:papers:123456789/9497 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Oladeji E. OLADUTIRE & Kazeem A. SOYINKA & Mofehintolu T. AKINNOLA, 2023. "Accounting Theory Formulation: the Methodological Approach," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 7(11), pages 1645-1655, November.
    5. Rosanna Spanò & Adele Caldarelli & Luca Ferri & Marco Maffei, 2020. "Context, culture and control: a case study on accounting change in an Italian regional health service," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 24(1), pages 229-272, March.
    6. Lehman, Glen, 2013. "Critical reflections on Laughlin's middle range research approach: Language not mysterious?," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 24(3), pages 211-224.
    7. Sylvain Durocher, 2009. "The future of interpretive accounting research," Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 6(3), pages 137-159, July.
    8. Oakes, Helen & Oakes, Steve, 2016. "Accounting colonisation and austerity in arts organisations," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 34-53.
    9. Pope, Peter F., 2010. "Bridging the gap between accounting and finance," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 42(2), pages 88-102.
    10. Gallhofer, Sonja & Haslam, Jim & Yonekura, Akira, 2013. "Further critical reflections on a contribution to the methodological issues debate in accounting," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 24(3), pages 191-206.
    11. Broadbent, Jane, 2011. "Discourses of control, managing the boundaries," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 43(4), pages 264-277.
    12. Bruns, Hans-Jürgen, 2014. "Accounting change and value creation in public services—Do relational archetypes make a difference in improving public service performance?," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 25(4), pages 339-367.
    13. Larson, Robert K. & Herz, Paul J., 2011. "The academic community’s participation in global accounting standard-setting," Research in Accounting Regulation, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 34-45.
    14. Vassili Joannides & Danture Wickramasinghe & Nicolas Berland, 2012. "Critiques On Gray-Hofstede'S Model: What Impact On Cross-Cultural Accounting Research?," Post-Print hal-00690933, HAL.
    15. A. Mendes & R. L. Cardoso & P. C. Mário & A. L. Martinez & F. R. Ferreira, 2014. "Insolvency Prediction In The Presence Of Data Inconsistencies," Intelligent Systems in Accounting, Finance and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 21(3), pages 155-167, July.
    16. Francesca Manes-Rossi & Alessandra Allini & Rosanna Spanò & Riccardo Macchioni, 2018. "Performance management change in archaeological sites: The case of Herculaneum Conservation Project," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 22(4), pages 947-979, December.
    17. Oleh Pasko, 2018. "Theories of Regulation in the Context of Modern Practice of Accounting Regulation," Oblik i finansi, Institute of Accounting and Finance, issue 2, pages 37-46, June.
    18. Vassili Joannides & Danture Wickramasinghe & Nicolas Berland, 2012. "Critiques on gray-hofstede’s model: what impact on cross-cultural accounting research?," Post-Print hal-01661667, HAL.
    19. Thomson, Ian & Grubnic, Suzana & Georgakopoulos, Georgios, 2014. "Exploring accounting-sustainability hybridisation in the UK public sector," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 39(6), pages 453-476.
    20. Maroun, Warren & Atkins, Jill, 2014. "Section 45 of the Auditing Profession Act: Blowing the whistle for audit quality?," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 46(3), pages 248-263.
    21. Vassili Joannides & Danture Wickramasinghe & Nicolas Berland, 2012. "Critiques on gray-hofstede’s model: what impact on cross-cultural accounting research?," Grenoble Ecole de Management (Post-Print) hal-01661667, HAL.
    22. Brooks, Chris & Schopohl, Lisa, 2018. "Topics and trends in finance research: What is published, who publishes it and what gets cited?," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 50(6), pages 615-637.
    23. 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.
    24. Vassili Joannides, 2011. "Influences de la pré-connaissance sur le design de la recherche:le cas des liens entre comptabilité et gestion," Revue Finance Contrôle Stratégie, revues.org, vol. 14(4), pages 91-127, December.

    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. Panozzo, Fabrizio, 1997. "The making of the good academic accountant," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 22(5), pages 447-480, July.
    2. O'Dwyer, Brendan & Unerman, Jeffrey, 2016. "Fostering rigour in accounting for social sustainability," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 32-40.
    3. Brown, Lawrence D., 1996. "Influential accounting articles, individuals, Ph.D. granting institutions and faculties: A citational analysis," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 21(7-8), pages 723-754.
    4. Cooper, David J. & Robson, Keith, 2006. "Accounting, professions and regulation: Locating the sites of professionalization," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 31(4-5), pages 415-444.
    5. Gallhofer, Sonja & Haslam, Jim & Yonekura, Akira, 2013. "Further critical reflections on a contribution to the methodological issues debate in accounting," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 24(3), pages 191-206.
    6. Napier, Christopher J., 2006. "Accounts of change: 30 years of historical accounting research," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 31(4-5), pages 445-507.
    7. Carnegie, Garry D. & McBride, Karen M. & Napier, Christopher J. & Parker, Lee D., 2020. "Accounting history and theorising about organisations," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(6).
    8. 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.
    9. Walker, Stephen P., 2016. "Revisiting the roles of accounting in society," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 41-50.
    10. Mennicken, Andrea, 2002. "Bringing calculation back in: Sociological studies in accounting," economic sociology. perspectives and conversations, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies, vol. 3(3), pages 17-27.
    11. Suzuki, Tomo, 2003. "The accounting figuration of business statistics as a foundation for the spread of economic ideas," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 65-95, January.
    12. Ejiogu, Amanze & Ambituuni, Ambisisi & Ejiogu, Chibuzo, 2021. "Accounting for accounting’s role in the neoliberalization processes of social housing in England: A Bourdieusian perspective," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    13. 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.
    14. Mennicken, Andrea & Miller, Peter & Samiolo, Rita, 2008. "Accounting for economic sociology," economic sociology. perspectives and conversations, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies, vol. 10(1), pages 3-7.
    15. Nicholls, Alex, 2009. "'We do good things, don't we?': 'Blended Value Accounting' in social entrepreneurship," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 34(6-7), pages 755-769, August.
    16. Garry D. Carnegie & Christopher J. Napier, 2012. "Accounting's past, present and future: the unifying power of history," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 25(2), pages 328-369, February.
    17. Markus J. Milne & Helen Tregidga & Sara Walton, 2009. "Words not actions! The ideological role of sustainable development reporting," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 22(8), pages 1211-1257, October.
    18. Davie, Shanta S.K., 2008. "An autoethnography of accounting knowledge production: Serendipitous and fortuitous choices for understanding our social world," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 19(7), pages 1054-1079.
    19. Power, Michael & Laughlin, Richard, 1996. "Habermas, law and accounting," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 21(5), pages 441-465, July.
    20. Lehman, Glen, 2010. "Perspectives on accounting, commonalities & the public sphere," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 21(8), pages 724-738.

    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:bracre:v:39:y:2007:i:4:p:271-289. 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: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/the-british-accounting-review .

    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.