The Knowledge Production Process and Annual Report Readability Research: A Critical Synthesis

Abstract

Readability research has been predominantly static since its introduction into accounting research in the 1950s. This has changed in recent years with an increasing number of readability studies published in accounting Journals. This study examines the knowledge production process in the accounting research academic discipline, using annual report readability (ARR) research as illustrative evidence. A conceptual framework is developed by synthesizing the social influence pressure method of analysis (Milgram 1974) and Whitley’s (2000) theory of ‘mutual dependence’ and ‘task uncertainty’. This research explores the association between knowledge production in ARR research and its intellectual environment. A positive association is found between ARR research citations and the publication of readability research in the ‘Journal of Accounting and Economics’ in 2008. ARR research appears to have advanced by supporting a neoclassical economics-inspired narrative. This study contributes to the accounting research literature by using the observed evidence in ARR research to support the widely studied hypothesis that knowledge production is socially constructed. The hypothesis has been widely debated, but with limited illustrative evidence. The study also offers a theoretical framework for analysing the knowledge production process.