Editorial 38-2: an issue with a special section about qualitative research in accounting

Purpose – The purpose of this Special Issue of Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management is to focus on qualitative research in accounting from a North American perspective. The goal is to highlight the possibility of greater contributions to qualitative research in accounting from researchers based in North America and to highlight some significant contributions produced by authors in North American universities in the qualitative domain. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is conceptual in nature. Findings – This sample of North American qualitative research in accounting provides an example of some of the different types of qualitative work being done. In most respects the articles are similar to qualitative research being done in other parts of the world. Perhaps the key difference is that the research has been undertaken for the most part by senior researchers who have been able to take some risks with a research paradigm that may not be widely accepted at their universities or they may be fortunate to be located at universities which value such research. Originality/value – The paper broadens the view of qualitative research to North America where it appears that qualitative research has been relatively undervalued in recent years.

Purpose: When the “linguistic turn” is replaced by the “visual turn”, there is a natural need for social scientists to embrace the new reality and incorporate visuals in their research. As a result, the importance of visual research, which centers on the use of visual sources, is growing. This paper provides an overview of how visual materials and related methodological approaches can be used in qualitative management and accounting research. Methodology/approach: We begin by reviewing the literature on the research methods, drawing from many disciplines such as sociology, organizational learning, management, and accounting. Next, we analyze three cases – already published papers in accounting – to illustrate how photography can be used in qualitative accounting research. Findings: There is a growing literature on visual research methods. Researchers have used visual materials as primary and secondary data and multiple methodological approaches. Visual methods can also be used in accounting research. Originality/value: This paper provides an overview of emerging methodological approaches that use visual materials and discusses how they can be incorporated into qualitative accounting research. Research limitations: Drawing a simple line between the various approaches presented in this paper is difficult as researchers can use visual material in unique ways throughout the research process. Therefore, the presented methodological categorizations can only help to better understand emerging visual research.

Purpose COVID-19 restrictions have severely impacted access to the traditional data and data sources used by qualitative researchers. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the changes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the corresponding challenges and opportunities of conducting qualitative research in accounting. Design/methodology/approach This study highlights the opportunities opened up by the way the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting qualitative accounting research, discussing the most common qualitative accounting research methods, practices and techniques used during the different phases of research. Findings The COVID-19 pandemic is reshaping some of the traditional research methods, practices and techniques in qualitative accounting research. Particularly, academic researchers who are reluctant to use the new technologies need to adapt their research approach, deal with the new challenges and exploit the opportunities to conduct research in a COVID-19 environment. Some changes in research methods, practices and techniques will affect accounting research in the long term. Research limitations/implications This paper could be a valuable resource for qualitative accounting researchers. Originality/value This paper is one of the first to focus on the changes, challenges and opportunities for conducting qualitative accounting research in a COVID-19 setting. As such, this paper could be a valuable resource for different types of qualitative accounting researchers, specifically the discussion of ways to deal with the changes and challenges, as well as the opportunities, as summarised in the table.

Purpose – COVID-19 restrictions have severely impacted access to the traditional data and data sources used by qualitative researchers. This paper discusses the changes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the corresponding challenges and opportunities of conducting qualitative research in accounting. Design/methodology/approach – This study highlights the opportunities opened up by the way the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting qualitative accounting research, discussing the most common qualitative accounting research methods, practices and techniques used during the different phases of research.Findings – The COVID-19 pandemic is reshaping some of the traditional research methods, practices and techniques in qualitative accounting research. Particularly, academic researchers who are reluctant to use the new technologies need to adapt their research approach, deal with the new challenges, and exploit the opportunities to conduct research in a COVID-19 environment. Some changes in research methods, practices and techniques will affect accounting research in the long term.Originality/value – This paper is one of the first to focus on the changes, challenges and opportunities for conducting qualitative accounting research in a COVID-19 setting. As such, this paper could be a valuable resource for different types of qualitative accounting researchers, specifically the discussion of ways to deal with the changes and challenges, as well as the opportunities, as summarised in the table.

Background: This study examines the realm of qualitative research in accounting, highlighting its evolving methodologies and thematic emphasis. There has been increasing interest in qualitative methodologies, such as literature reviews, SLRs, archival research, bibliometric studies, and interviews, to explore the complex nature of accounting practices. Methods: This study identifies the principal themes, trends, and prominent authors in qualitative accounting research through a systematic approach that incorporates bibliometric analysis using VOSviewer and a thorough assessment of Scopus-indexed journals. Findings: The findings highlight significant themes, including sustainability, technology, governance, and the impact of global occurrences, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, on accounting practices. The discussion also encompasses challenges in conducting qualitative research, such as obtaining access and maintaining anonymity. Conclusions: This study enhances comprehension of the field’s conceptual framework and guides future research, especially in areas such as blockchain, artificial intelligence, and sustainability accounting. The findings provide essential insights for researchers seeking to address the complexities inherent in modern accounting. Novelty/Originality of this article: The qualitative research currently available either discusses a specific topic or focuses on a particular journal, but none examines the general approach to qualitative research in accounting. This paper aims to address this gap by exploring how qualitative research has been conducted in top-ranked journals, providing readers with insights into qualitative research relevant to the field of accounting.

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the current practice of reporting on translation issues in qualitative, interdisciplinary accounting research. Based on an analysis of the methodological consideration of the translation of quotations from non-English interviews and additional interviews with experienced researchers, the authors aim to develop recommendations for the reporting on such translation procedures in future accounting research relying on interviews not conducted in English.Design/methodology/approachThe analysis is based on papers published in four highly ranked interdisciplinary accounting journals: Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal (AAAJ), Accounting, Organizations and Society (AOS), Critical Perspectives on Accounting (CPA) and Qualitative Research in Accounting and Management (QRAM). The subjects of the analysis are publications of non-English-speaking researchers who conducted non-English interviews and therefore were confronted with translation issues when attempting to get published in these English-language journals. Additionally, to gain deeper insights into reporting decisions on language and translation issues, the authors conducted interviews with experienced researchers in the field of qualitative, interdisciplinary accounting research whose mother tongue is not English. The authors combine these empirical insights with current developments in translation studies.FindingsAs suggested by translation studies, translation is an act of sense making and reconstruction of meaning, and therefore is a complex task that needs to be carried out with caution. However, the findings suggest that in current interdisciplinary, qualitative accounting research, the reporting of language and translation issues, especially with regards to the translation of quotations from interview data, have so far received only limited attention. The authors therefore call for more awareness of and sensibility toward dealing with language and translation issues, which should be reflected in more transparent reporting on translation processes to support the credibility and authenticity of qualitative accounting studies based on non-English interviews.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper is limited to the reporting on the methodological consideration of translating quotations from non-English interviews in papers published in AAAJ, AOS, CPA and QRAM between 2004 and 2015. For future accounting research that relies on such interviews, the authors call for more transparency and provide specific recommendations. This in turn should strengthen the awareness that language and translation are factors to be considered and reported.Originality/valueThis paper is the first to develop recommendations for the reporting of translation processes in accounting research studies, which are based on interviews not led in the English language.

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to identify and articulate concepts and approaches to qualitative generalisation that will offer qualitative accounting researchers avenues for enhancing and justifying the general applicability of their research findings and conclusions.Design/methodology/approach– The study and arguments draw from multidisciplinary approaches to this issue. The analysis and theorising is based on published qualitative research literatures from the fields of education, health sciences, sociology, information systems, management and marketing, as well as accounting.Findings– The paper develops two overarching generalisation concepts for application by qualitative accounting researchers. These are built upon a number of qualitative generalisation concepts that have emerged in the multidisciplinary literatures. It also articulates strategies for enhancing the generalisability of qualitative accounting research findings.Research limitations/implications– The paper provides qualitative accounting researchers with understandings, arguments and justifications for the generalisability of their research and the related potential for wider accounting and societal contributions. It also articulates the key factors that impact on the quality of research generalisation that qualitative researchers can offer.Originality/value– This paper presents the most comprehensively sourced and developed approach to the concepts, strategies and unique deliverables of qualitative generalising hitherto available in the accounting research literature.

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to outline the development of academic research in the discipline of accounting, paying particular attention to the important contribution made by qualitative research projects.Design/methodology/approachProvision of a historical trajectory based on a review of developments in academic journals, the size and breadth of the academic community and other dimensions of the academic discipline of accounting.FindingsThe review indicates that accounting has developed into a pluralist discipline in the UK. Qualitative research features in many sub‐disciplinary areas of accounting.Practical implicationsThe paper identifies the sibling discipline of finance as an area where qualitative research has not developed fully. It makes some suggestions and provides some indicators of how qualitative research in the areas of accounting and finance may develop in the future.Originality/valueThe paper provides the only attempt to date to analyse and review developments of qualitative research in accounting.

This paper aims to describe qualitative research that began to develop in the field of accounting. Qualitative descriptive method is used to collect data and describe qualitative research in accounting. The results of research can add to the understanding of qualitative research in accounting. Qualitative research provides freedom from the limit of the deductive hypothesis testing obsession that allows to investigate issues and questions that have been neglected by the dominant research paradigm. Assimilating accounting disciplines with other disciplines may open up opportunities for qualitative research.

This article aims to discuss the use of grounded theory approach in qualitative research in accounting and management. Development of accounting theory one of them done with accounting research. Qualitative research can use grounded theory as a great tool that researchers can use to collect and anal

PurposeThe use of interviews for data collection is prevalent in qualitative accounting research. This paper examines vignettes – sketches of hypothetical scenarios – as a promising complementary way to conduct interviews in qualitative accounting research.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based on our experiences designing and using vignettes in five separate qualitative accounting studies, which collectively involve over 200 interviews with various participants. It discusses the opportunities the use of vignettes in interviews offers to qualitative accounting research, as well as the challenges associated with designing and using vignettes. The paper also reflects on fellow researchers’ varied reactions during seminars, workshops, and the journal review process.FindingsVignettes emerge as a productive and engaging complementary way for accounting researchers to obtain additional insights and perspectives not usually accessible in semi-structured interviews. The paper also provides practical insights into developing, using and publishing qualitative accounting studies using vignettes, contributing an additional behind-the-scenes view of using qualitative research methods.Originality/valueThe aim of this paper is to increase awareness of vignettes as a complement to the standard qualitative accounting interview. It provides guidance on how vignettes might be used productively for studying rare, new, emerging, complex, or multi-period real-world accounting phenomena. It also discusses how vignettes can promote transparency, honesty, and a greater level of detail in participants’ responses, as well as facilitate the involvement of lay people in accounting studies.

Purpose – This paper aims to offer a brief personal reflection upon, and celebrates, the 10th anniversary of Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management (QRAM). More specifically, the author highlights the journal's contributions towards advancing qualitative management accounting research over the last decade, and the author suggests possible future avenues. Design/methodology/approach – This short paper mainly constitutes a review of qualitative management accounting articles published in the first ten years of QRAM's publishing life, plus some personal reflection and suggestions for future directions. Findings – The author celebrates the impressive achievements of QRAM's founding editors, and the author is encouraged to offer the personal views on how the journal might excel further in years to come. Research limitations/implications – Although the piece is primarily personal reflection, there is hopefully some food for thought with regard to fruitful directions in tomorrow's qualitative management accounting research. In particular, arguments are made for more undertaking of processual qualitative research and also for more targeted focus on the connections between management accounting and other relevant disciplines such as management and organisation studies. Practical implications – The paper offers no practical implications as such, but does discuss, and in fact heeds some caution against, the apparent trend of (possibly too uncritically) seeking to tease out practical implications from qualitative management accounting research. Social implications – Again, while this paper offers no specific discussion on its social implications, the author would add that any qualitative management accounting research paper inherently carries at least some implications for society; management accounting and the wider society are continually intertwined through time. Originality/value – The author would not claim that there is much that is original in this short piece – most of what is offered simply gathers others' past contributions. But hopefully there will be some values in the ideas offered with regard to the exciting future ahead for qualitative management accounting research in QRAM.

PurposeThis paper aims to review the literature on the use of the notion of performativity and its related concepts in accounting research. The literature uses the term performativity in almost diametrically different ways, yet most papers assume that the meaning of the term is self-evident. We build on recent reviews of the notion of performativity and explicate the implicit tensions in the accounting literature, discovering a need to clarify how the accounting literature has explored the processes – how accounting becomes performative – and effects – what is performed – of accounting performativity. The paper develops suggestions for future theoretical and empirical research.Design/methodology/approachThe authors have searched in six leading accounting journals (Accounting, Organizations and Society, Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, Management Accounting Research, Critical Perspectives on Accounting and Qualitative Research in Accounting and Management) for the terms “performativity” and/or “performative” and/or “performable”. This yielded 289 results from which we distilled a core sample of 92 papers which substantially draw on the concept and explicate their use of the term.FindingsThe authors find that the accounting literature has paid almost equal attention to the conforming and amplifying effects of performativity but has mostly explored how conditions of performativity are built. Less attention has been paid to how accounting generates multiple worlds and how differences in these worlds are coordinated by accounting. Building institutions and searching for accounting incompleteness have been developed as the two main processes where accounting is made performative.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper develops avenues for future research, highlighting the potential for a deeper understanding of how the notion of performativity can be used. We do not advocate homogenizing the literature, instead exploring its fruitful tensions to discover a renewed interest in how accounting is constitutive of existing and/or new worlds. We illustrate this potential by reflecting on the debates about accounting incompleteness and the boundaries of accounting. The authors also suggest the potentials for concepts of performativity in studying emerging phenomena such as big data and sustainability and revisiting the ethics of using accounting as a social and organizational practice.Originality/valueThe literature review explicates differences in the use of the term performativity, which usually remain implicit in the literature. The study develops a framework that attends to both the processes – problematizing the conditions for performativity or not – and effects – conforming and amplifying – of performativity accounting studies have drawn upon, which clarifies how the accounting literature has mobilized the notion of performativity and the contributions the accounting literature has added. Further, the authors extend Vosselman’s (2022) review both in scope and nuance.

Paradigms, theory and management accounting practice: A comment on Parker (forthcoming) “Qualitative management accounting research: Assessing deliverables and relevance”

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to provide a personal, reflective analysis of publications over the last decade inQualitative Research in Accounting & Management(QRAM) and to assess the implications for the future development of the journal, the practice of qualitative accounting research and the broader standing of the accounting discipline.Design/methodology/approach– ReviewingQRAMpublished papers across a range of themes, including the spirit of generated debate, the representation and classification of qualitative research and the range of contributory authors. Using the review to identify important patterns and trends in the standing and practice of qualitative accounting research.Findings– Highlighting the existence and contribution of numerous carefully crafted, thought provoking papers published inQRAMand drawing on them to present a number of important challenges, priorities and attractive opportunities for the future development of qualitative accounting research. Encouraging greater diversity, flexibility and creativity in the undertaking and utilisation of qualitative accounting research.Practical implications– Emphasising how thinking differently about the emotions and lived experiences of qualitative accounting research(ers) can serve to inspire theoretical development, enhance trust in researcher judgement, and stimulate more fruitful and intellectually rewarding ways of doing qualitative accounting research.Originality/value– Reminding of the value of reading papers as compared to relying on formal journal rankings. Revealing residing defensiveness tendencies in the undertaking of qualitative accounting research and arguing that restrictive representations and conceptions of “legitimate” qualitative accounting research are constraining what can be achieved and experienced both by individual accounting researchers and the discipline more generally.