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Economic man and disciplinary boundaries A case‐study in corporate annual reports

Economic man and disciplinary boundaries A case‐study in corporate annual reports This paper is an empirical response to two of Quattrone's claims: first, that research in accounting is fragmented; and then that this follows from the blocking of communication by intra- and inter-disciplinary boundaries. Although we agree with much of Quattrone's argument, and in particular with his problematising of "economic man", we draw an opposite conclusion. Rather than looking to a trans-disciplinary removal of boundaries, we use a survey of 30 years of research in corporate annual reports to defend narrowly disciplinary work. We make our case through discussing problems of intra- and inter-disciplinary unity in research, the puzzle of the role of "economic man" in the study of annual reports, and the alternative to him in science and technology studies (STS). Our approach yields a better fit than Quattrone's own solution with his aims of an evolutionary perspective that allows for historical shifts, and for a reflexivity that includes the inevitable entanglement of researchers in what they study. We conclude by noting that our approach is applicable to the study of corporate communication more generally. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Accounting Auditing & Accountability Journal Emerald Publishing

Economic man and disciplinary boundaries A case‐study in corporate annual reports

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References (109)

Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
Copyright © 2002 MCB UP Ltd. All rights reserved.
ISSN
0951-3574
DOI
10.1108/09513570210440559
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

This paper is an empirical response to two of Quattrone's claims: first, that research in accounting is fragmented; and then that this follows from the blocking of communication by intra- and inter-disciplinary boundaries. Although we agree with much of Quattrone's argument, and in particular with his problematising of "economic man", we draw an opposite conclusion. Rather than looking to a trans-disciplinary removal of boundaries, we use a survey of 30 years of research in corporate annual reports to defend narrowly disciplinary work. We make our case through discussing problems of intra- and inter-disciplinary unity in research, the puzzle of the role of "economic man" in the study of annual reports, and the alternative to him in science and technology studies (STS). Our approach yields a better fit than Quattrone's own solution with his aims of an evolutionary perspective that allows for historical shifts, and for a reflexivity that includes the inevitable entanglement of researchers in what they study. We conclude by noting that our approach is applicable to the study of corporate communication more generally.

Journal

Accounting Auditing & Accountability Journal – Emerald Publishing

Published: Oct 1, 2002

Keywords: Knowledge workers; Language; Economic systems; Communications

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