The Societal Relevance of Management Accounting

This book explores the relevance of management accounting research and practice for a range of broader, societal phenomena related to corporate governance and regulation, the creation and maintenance of markets and their concomitant social and political implications. It also explores the theoretical and methodological implications of pursuing a research agenda exploring such phenomena in greater detail.

Containing a number of theoretical, methodological and empirical contributions by leading management accounting scholars, The Societal Relevance of Management Accounting seeks to advance novel research approaches that go beyond the traditional intra-organisational focus that has long dominated management accounting research. As such, it seeks to enhance the relevance of management accounting research for a broader range of stakeholders and interest groups in and around individual organisations. This book was originally published as a special issue of Accounting and Business Research.

1. The societal relevance of management accounting: An introduction2. In our ivory towers? The research-practice gap in management accounting3. The societal relevance of management accounting innovations: economic value added and institutional work in the fields of Chinese and Thai state-owned enterprises4. The ‘performativity thesis’ and its critics: Towards a relational ontology of management accounting5. Relevant interventionist research: balancing three intellectual virtues

Sven Modell is Professor of Management Accounting at Manchester Business School, University of Manchester, UK. His research interests pivot on a broad range of management accounting topics, especially related to performance management, costing and resource allocation practices. He is an Associate Editor of Accounting and Business Research and has published widely in a number of leading accounting journals.