Testing vs. building accounting theory with experimental research: insights from management research

Abstract

With this conceptual paper, we want to raise scholars' awareness of the underused potential of experiments in accounting research. We refer to research taxonomies from the management discipline to explore the role of experimental research in testing and building accounting theory. Although the contribution of laboratory research to testing theory is well acknowledged, we argue that exploratory experimental research efforts also have the potential to build new theory, pointing at the underused potential of experiments in current accounting research. In doing so, we (i) provide a clear understanding of theory building and theory testing in accounting research; (ii) present a guideline for assessing the degree of theory building and theory testing inherent in any (experimental) study. Furthermore, we argue that an inter-study triangulation aligning experimental and archival methodologies will have the potential to produce results that are robust to internal and external validity concerns, thus advancing accounting theory.