National cultural dimensions in finance and accounting scholarship: An important gap in the literatures?

Abstract

In spite of cultural dimensions being included in hundreds of business and management research studies, there have been relatively few studies in finance and accounting that include the use of cultural dimensions. We note the need for such studies in accounting and finance and review published studies in these areas that use cultural dimensions. We conclude that both the accounting and finance fields make sparse use of cultural dimensions in scholarship. However, the field of accounting has made greater use of cultural dimensions than the field of finance. We note that this is in part due to particular seminal theories regarding the connection of national culture with the behavior of individuals in accounting. Finance, on the other hand, has been more focused on effects of larger market aggregates. Finance just recently seems to have discovered the impact of national culture, particularly via the impact of individualism on market momentum and the impact of uncertainty avoidance on transaction costs. We conclude that there is much opportunity for further investigation of the impact of national culture on finance. Thus, the field of finance is being well served by the Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance championing research on cultural finance.