Emotions in Accounting: A Review to Bridge the Paradigmatic Divide

This review analyzes the role of emotions in accounting research. Drawing on an analytical framework that differentiates between joy-, fear-, anger- and sadness-based emotions, we disentangle the bidirectional dynamics between emotions and accounting, and show how accounting both conditions and is conditioned by emotions. In this way, we demonstrate how an emotional turn in accounting scholarship challenges and expands our understanding of financial accounting, management accounting, and auditing. In addition, we raise awareness about the performative role of ontological and epistemological positions in accounting research on emotions. We find that scholars from different paradigmatic traditions mostly acknowledge each other's work, but often miss the opportunity to fully embrace it. By illustrating the productive insights that emerge from a stronger inter-paradigmatic engagement, we draw attention to the necessity (and excitement) of crossing the great divide. We conclude by outlining avenues of future research on emotions in accounting.