Crowding-out and crowding-in of the community principle: the role of accounting from the perspective of cultural theory

Abstract

In this theoretical article I propose that cultural theory (Douglas, 1987; Thompson et al., 1999; Verweij, 1999; Verweij, 2006) can help us understand the non-intentional effects of accounting. In cultural theory three different ways of organising (hierarchism, individualism and egalitarianism) are supposed to underpin all different cultures and organisations. These different principles complement each other and an organisation that lacks one of the principles is unlikely to sustain. From the background of cultural theory I discuss how different forms of accounting crowd-out or crowd-in different ways of organising. Through the article I make references to one example on organisation in order to illustrate the theoretical discussion.