Structuration theory in accounting research: Applications and applicability ¬リニ

Ever since Giddens’ structuration theory (ST)was introduced into the accounting literature some 25 years ago, it has strengthened its position as one of the major schools of thought used to explore accounting as organizational, social and political phenomena. The purpose of this study is to review how ST has been applied, and can be applied, in this sizeable literature. Overall, the review of some 65 published papers, suggests that not only has ST contributed to challenge the assumptions of ‘inherent and functional’ features of accounting systems per se characterizing mainstream research, but also to develop other alternative theoretical perspectives. However, our review also suggests several limitations. These include that the accounting community has not really worked as a collective to develop a structurationist understanding of accounting practices, and that most researchers remain largely uncritical to ST as a theory. We also find that accounting scholars have not yet developed a mutual understanding of how to interpret ST (i.e. there are conceptual unclarities and even inconsistencies), or how to apply ST methodologically in empirical research. Based on these limitations, and the identification of a number of ‘black spots’ in the literature, we suggest several directions for future scholarly effort. 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. § We gratefully acknowledge the useful comments of John Burns, Hans Hasselbladh, Martin Messner and participants at workshops at CEROC (Centre for Empirical Research on Organizational Control) at Örebro University, and HEC Paris. Financial support for this project was provided by Örebro University, Stiftelsen Riksbankens Jubileumsfond, and the Jan Wallander and Tom Hedelius Foundation. * Corresponding author. Tel.: +46 0 19 303000. E-mail addresses: [email protected] (H. Englund), [email protected] (J. Gerdin).