IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/hal/journl/hal-01866971.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Counting before acting? The performativity of carbon accounting called into question - Calculation acts and dispositifs in a big French construction company

Author

Listed:
  • Morgane Le Breton

    (CGS i3 - Centre de Gestion Scientifique i3 - Mines Paris - PSL (École nationale supérieure des mines de Paris) - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - I3 - Institut interdisciplinaire de l’innovation - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • Franck Aggeri

    (CGS i3 - Centre de Gestion Scientifique i3 - Mines Paris - PSL (École nationale supérieure des mines de Paris) - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - I3 - Institut interdisciplinaire de l’innovation - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

Abstract

The emerging field of carbon accounting, a system based on conventions and designed to measure greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in companies and organizations, is currently generating interest both in industry and among researchers. The literature has however highlighted the fact that companies' use of carbon accounting has often been limited to public relations practices and has failed to result in low-carbon strategic collective action by companies. This article explores how carbon accounting practices could be performative, that is to say, able to deeply transform companies' practices and strategies. In order to do so, a case study of one specific company, " company V, " is examined. In particular, the process of performation through elementary calculation acts – in other words, managerial situations where speech acts are based on a calculation – are considered. We show that calculations based on carbon accounting, if repeated and integrated into a broader strategic dispositif, are performative. The contribution is twofold, for we show: first from an empirical standpoint, little-known phenomena pertaining to the actual use of carbon accounting in organizations; and second from a theoretical standpoint, the role of calculation acts in the launching and maintenance of the new form of collective action that a strategic dispositif is.

Suggested Citation

  • Morgane Le Breton & Franck Aggeri, 2018. "Counting before acting? The performativity of carbon accounting called into question - Calculation acts and dispositifs in a big French construction company," Post-Print hal-01866971, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-01866971
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-01866971v1
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://hal.science/hal-01866971v1/document
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. François Cooren & Eero Vaara & Ann Langley & Haridimos Tsoukas, 2014. "Language and Communication at work: Discourse, Narrativity and Organizing. Perspectives on Process Organization Studies - Vol 4," Post-Print hal-02298202, HAL.
    2. Vollmer, Hendrik, 2007. "How to do more with numbers: Elementary stakes, framing, keying, and the three-dimensional character of numerical signs," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 32(6), pages 577-600, August.
    3. Bebbington, Jan & Larrinaga, Carlos, 2014. "Accounting and sustainable development: An exploration," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 39(6), pages 395-413.
    4. Cho, Charles H. & Laine, Matias & Roberts, Robin W. & Rodrigue, Michelle, 2015. "Organized hypocrisy, organizational façades, and sustainability reporting," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 78-94.
    5. Neu, D. & Warsame, H. & Pedwell, K., 1998. "Managing public impressions: environmental disclosures in annual reports," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 23(3), pages 265-282, April.
    6. Albert David, 2012. "La recherche-intervention, cadre général pour la recherche en management ?," Post-Print hal-01635111, HAL.
    7. Whittington, Richard, 2011. "The practice turn in organization research: Towards a disciplined transdisciplinarity," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 183-186, April.
    8. Gillian Maree Vesty & Abby Telgenkamp & Philip J Roscoe, 2015. "Creating numbers: carbon and capital investment," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 28(3), pages 302-324, March.
    9. Fauré, Bertrand & Rouleau, Linda, 2011. "The strategic competence of accountants and middle managers in budget making," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 167-182, April.
    10. Frances Bowen & Bettina Wittneben, 2011. "Carbon accounting," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 24(8), pages 1022-1036, October.
    11. repec:dau:papers:123456789/11387 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Hervé Dumez & Alain Jeunemaitre, 2010. "Michel Callon, Michel Foucault and the « dispositif »," Post-Print hal-00546736, HAL.
    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. Kiswanto Kiswanto & Ain Hajawiyah & Atta Putra Harjanto & Endah Tri Setyarini, 2023. "Twelve Years Research Journey of Carbon Accounting," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 13(4), pages 246-254, July.

    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. Rong He & Le Luo & Abul Shamsuddin & Qingliang Tang, 2022. "Corporate carbon accounting: a literature review of carbon accounting research from the Kyoto Protocol to the Paris Agreement," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(1), pages 261-298, March.
    2. Morgane Le Breton & Franck Aggeri, 2016. "Studying performation: the arrangement of speech, calculation and writing acts within dispositifs," Post-Print halshs-01290800, HAL.
    3. Janne Järvinen & Matias Laine & Timo Hyvönen & Hannele Kantola, 2022. "Just Look at the Numbers: A Case Study on Quantification in Corporate Environmental Disclosures," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 175(1), pages 23-44, January.
    4. Michelon, Giovanna & Rodrigue, Michelle & Trevisan, Elisabetta, 2020. "The marketization of a social movement: Activists, shareholders and CSR disclosure," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    5. Qian, Wei & Schaltegger, Stefan, 2017. "Revisiting carbon disclosure and performance: Legitimacy and management views," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 49(4), pages 365-379.
    6. Nicolas Garcia‐Torea & Belen Fernandez‐Feijoo & Marta De La Cuesta, 2020. "CSR reporting communication: Defective reporting models or misapplication?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(2), pages 952-968, March.
    7. Charles H. Cho & Matias Laine & Robin W. Roberts & Michelle Rodrigue, 2018. "The Frontstage and Backstage of Corporate Sustainability Reporting: Evidence from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Bill," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 152(3), pages 865-886, October.
    8. Axel Haller & Chris J. van Staden & Cristina Landis, 2018. "Value Added as part of Sustainability Reporting: Reporting on Distributional Fairness or Obfuscation?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 152(3), pages 763-781, October.
    9. Jérôme Méric & Christophe Godowski, 2014. "Le Changement A L'Echelle Des Pratiques De Controle : Le Cas D'Une Universite Française," Post-Print hal-01899176, HAL.
    10. Lee Roberts & Monomita Nandy & Abeer Hassan & Suman Lodh & Ahmed A. Elamer, 2022. "Corporate Accountability Towards Species Extinction Protection: Insights from Ecologically Forward-Thinking Companies," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 178(3), pages 571-595, July.
    11. Delphine Gibassier & Giovanna Michelon & Mélodie Cartel, 2020. "The future of carbon accounting research: “we’ve pissed mother nature off, big time”," Post-Print hal-02810507, HAL.
    12. Mueller, Frank, 2018. "Taking Goffman seriously: Developing Strategy-as-Practice," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 16-30.
    13. Vinnari, Eija & Laine, Matias, 2017. "The moral mechanism of counter accounts: The case of industrial animal production," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 1-17.
    14. Radhakrishnan, Suresh & Tsang, Albert & Liu, Rubing, 2018. "A Corporate Social Responsibility Framework for Accounting Research," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 53(4), pages 274-294.
    15. Klarissa Lueg & Rainer Lueg, 2021. "Deconstructing corporate sustainability narratives: A taxonomy for critical assessment of integrated reporting types," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(6), pages 1785-1800, November.
    16. Larrinaga, Carlos & Garcia-Torea, Nicolas, 2022. "An ecological critique of accounting: The circular economy and COVID-19," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    17. Valérie-Inès de La Ville & Eléonore Mounoud, 2015. "A Narrative to Approach to Strategy as Practice: strategy making from texts and narratives," Post-Print halshs-01390100, HAL.
    18. Jieun Chung & Charles H. Cho, 2018. "Current Trends within Social and Environmental Accounting Research: A Literature Review," Accounting Perspectives, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 17(2), pages 207-239, June.
    19. 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).
    20. Bastiaan Linden & Andrew C. Wicks & R. Edward Freeman, 2024. "How to Assess Multiple-Value Accounting Narratives from a Value Pluralist Perspective? Some Metaethical Criteria," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 192(2), pages 243-259, June.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    performativity; dispositif; carbon accounting; calculation acts; felicitous conditions;
    All these keywords.

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:hal:journl:hal-01866971. 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: CCSD (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/ .

    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.