ACCOUNTING HISTORY AS A LOCAL DISCIPLINE: THE CASE OF THE ITALIAN-SPEAKING LITERATURE (1869–2008)

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to demonstrate how Italian-language accounting history was one example of a “local” accounting discipline. For this purpose, we reviewed all historical publications edited from 1869 to 2008 and conducted an in-depth analysis on the database we built. Evidence about authorships, dates of publication, publication forms, periods of study, issues and approaches, were collected. The results show many changes in the publishing patterns of accounting history research. We also explore how the schools of accounting thought, the assessment of historical research in the recruitment system, the stimuli and opportunities coming from the Italian Society of Accounting History, the role of practitioners in conducting and financing research about the origin of their profession could have influenced authorship, publication forms, and the issues and themes during the century and a half after the Unification of Italy.