Framework for Management Accounting Research: A Bibliographic Study

Accounting information can be essentially divided into two basic groups: These are managers in businesses, and individuals and legal entities other than businesses. As these groups require quantitative information about the status and activities of the businesses, the qualifications and quantity of this information mostly differentiate from each other. This difference has led to the division of accounting into two main classes; financial accounting and management accounting.

Management accounting can be defined as the application of appropriate techniques and concepts on the historical and projected economic data of businesses for achieving their goals and rational decision making process (Belkaoui, 2002: 2). Management accounting provides the information that investors and senior executives utilize during the decision making process such as new investment projects, financial leasing, purchasing and determining advertisement and promotion expenditures (Libby and Short, 2003: 4).

The first traces of management accounting theory and practices are found in Germany during the high inflation period that occurred during the first few years of World War I. In studies conducted in the United States, management accounting has become an important tool for managers as a tool for planning and control since the end of World War II (Moore and Jaundice, 1980: 2).

There have been significant developments relating to the functioning and structures of businesses since the beginning of the twentieth century. In this context, businesses showed significant changes in organizational structures and management understanding shifted from centralism to various centers such as finance, production, marketing, etc. All of these developments have brought about interdepartmental coordination and budgeting activities. The most important innovation in terms of cost and management accounting is using the measurement of redemption on the investments in this period. The payback period of the investment is a measurement that calculates the details of a businesses’ financial success and shows the activities of individual section in the company and business as a whole. Managers use the “payback period of the investment ratio” as a measurement to assist in the valuation of departmental success that participates in the activities during the capital distribution processes (Kaplan, 1984: 396,397). It is observed that the payback period measurement method which began in the early twentieth century is still in use today and is one of the basic management accounting practices.

In order to follow developments in the field of management accounting, it is also required to consider changes in the discipline of accounting. An understanding of the development of scholarly accounting knowledge can benefit accounting scholars in three main ways. First, by identifying the causes and consequences of change, we potentially gain insights into the role of accounting practice and education in accounting research. Second, it has long been recognized that a number of different theories exist within the accounting discipline. Third, it can be argued that such an understanding will benefit educators, serving as a pedagogic device for the teaching of accounting theory (Beattie and Davie, 2006:1, 2).

Hopwood (1979: 1) indicates that accounting literature began to ask more basic questions relating to the role of accounting in the management of complex and ever- changing initiatives although generally it consists of detailed technical procedures and financial reports. According to Hopwood, increased interest in the humanities and social aspects is an important factor in changing the approach to accounting. Considering that the accounting system has been created by people, it can reasonably be expected to serve human purposes and behavioral goals. As a result, behavioral and social perspectives don’t see accounting as a purely technical structure (Hopwood, 1979: 14).

The main thesis of the “Handbook of Management Accounting Research” which was edited by Hopwood, Chapman and Shields argues that despite the kaleidoscopic nature of the accounting field and the many changes and developments the field has gone through, it is hardly surprising that there is an interest in the state of systematic knowledge in the field of management accounting and in the research processes that develop this knowledge. To satisfy that interest is the aim of the Handbook of Management Accounting Research (Preface, 2006: 10).

This study aims to reach the main reference sources of management accounting research particularly in the context of the Handbook of Management Accounting Research. Furthermore, authors of these publications are identified while reviewing the main reference sources in the study. Thus, the main reference sources and their authors that transfer information to the management accounting field are identified. In the study, the Handbook of Management Accounting Research discussed because of both its way of handling the accumulated information in the field with all aspects and number of citations (Table 2) has gained considerable validity in retrospect. The study began with a literature review, and then the methodology used in the study is described. Results of the analysis conducted in the study follows, including the relevant tables about main references and authors in the fourth section of the study. In the last section, the general conclusion of the study and further research recommendations are given.

Bettie and Davie (2006) investigated the accounting research literature with a main focus on journals. Authors highlighted the development of the sub-fields of accounting according to established criteria by citation analysis. As a result, 4211 publications with 122.485 citations from 429 journals were examined. In the study, publications with more than 85 citations were included for evaluation; as a result, 59 authors for the period of 1972-1981 and 62 for the period of 1982-1990 were analyzed. There are 37 authors that overlap the two periods. The data of the authors are divided into groups and sub-groups through cluster analysis. As a result of this distinction, the later map period, the distinctive perspectives of the author clusters become more clearly defined as theory groups reach the later stages of development. The emergence of the Journal of Accounting and Economics in 1979, edited jointly by Watts and Zimmerman, can be associated with the development of a group of positive accounting theorists, dedicated to the application of economic theory to accounting issues. In addition, the emergence of Accounting, Organizations and Society in 1976, edited by Hopwood, has supported the continuing development of ‘behavioral’ accounting in three distinct directions: (i) human information processing; (ii) management accounting; and (iii) organizational and social perspectives (Beattie and Davie, 2006:18).

Publishing the book “Managerial Accounting” by R. Anthony (1956) is one of the most important developments in the field of management accounting. The most important feature of this book is the focus on management accounting issues instead of cost accounting as previous cost accounting books do the book also includes case studies rather than just cost accounting problems of earlier books. Anthony (1965) also published a book “Planning and Control Systems: A Framework for Analysis” that had a significant impact on the management accountants during the period (Maher, 2000: 337).

“Cost Accounting: A Managerial Emphasis” by C.T. Horngren (1962) is the first book to introduce the management accounting field to higher education curriculum and is still in use today in many educational institutions. Although the title of the book includes “cost accounting”, a significant level of management accounting issues included in this study is from Horngren. The focus on traditional inventory valuation methods took fewer places while emphasis was given to the management accounting related issues, including decision- making (Maher, 2000: 337).

The field of management accounting research has expanded since the early 1980s due to the emergence of new topics to investigate (Johnson & Kaplan, 1987; Young & Selto, 1991), the introduction of new journals focusing exclusively on publishing management accounting research, and the calls that examine management accounting phenomena from multiple disciplinary perspectives (Baiman, 1982, Covaleski et al., 1996; Hopwood, 1978) using multiple methods (Hesford et. Al., 2006: 3).

The effectiveness of scientific publications has usually been demonstrated by bibliometric studies. It is a well-known fact that bibliometric research conducted in this regard uses the citation indices as data sources. Information derived from citation indices is used to evaluate scientific publications of science and technology policy documents at the same time (Al, 2008: 3, 4). Citation analysis studies are then carried out by using various techniques. The most common applications of these techniques are bibliographic coupling and co-citation. Giving reference to the same publication in two different sources is defined as bibliographic coupling, while giving reference to two different studies in one publication is defined as co-citation (Garfield, 1988).

Some studies are referenced not just for the direct intellectual impact they have but also for the legitimacy they give to the topic. At the same time, it is observed that authors have a tendency to prefer theoretical, conceptual and review studies compared to the experimental and observational studies (Peng and Zhou, 2006: 491).In this study, reference data related to the handbook obtained from the Web of Science database and this reference data are classified by using Excel and analyzed.

Analyzed data of the handbook showed that the first two volumes of the handbook were published in 2006 while the third volume was published in 2008 and the number of articles that these volumes includes are 18, 24 and 21 articles respectively (Table 1). It is determined that some authors provided multiple contributions to the handbook especially in the first two volumes (Ahrens, Chapman, Covaleski, Luft, Young, and Van der Stede etc.) (Table 2). The number of references used in the publications also shows the main cluster of this study. The weight of the second volume in the number of articles (45-%) is reflected in the number of references (48-%). Information from the Science Direct database constitutes the number of citations to those publications and this information provides important signals about the spreading performances of articles after publication. In this regard, it is observed that the total quoted rate of the third volume is very low (7-%) compared to the first two volumes.

Additionally, Table 2 and 3 shows the citations frequencies of the publications. The higher number of citations from publications draws attention such as Merchant and Otley (2006: Vol.2); Chenhall (2006: Vol.1); Jönsson and Lukka (2006: Vol.1) and Gosselin (2006: Vol.2).

Publications are classified by their various topics under the different chapters especially in the first two volumes of the handbook.

Chapters in Volume 1 of the Handbook which provide a bibliographic and substantive review of the management accounting research literature, the next several chapters review research on management accounting practices that are motivated by or viewed from the lens of various theoretical perspectives. Detailed discussions are given in the ways in which theories from economics, history, organizational studies, psychology, and sociology have analyzed and influenced management accounting research and our understanding of management accounting practices. The remainder of Volume 1 of the Handbook is devoted to a consideration of different research methods used in management accounting research. Detailed attention is given to qualitative and quantitative research approaches, cross-country comparative research, and interventionist research (Preface, 2006: 11).

The chapters in Volume 2 provide insights into research on different management accounting practices. Chapters in Volume 2 also review particular issues associated with the design and functioning of management accounting in the special contexts of health-care and manufacturing organizations. Volume 2 of the Handbook concludes with a review of research on how management accounting practice and research varies around the world (Preface, 2006: 12, 13).

Study results showed that the books by Johnson and Kaplan (1987) share the top of the list (Table 4) along with Kaplan and Norton’s book (1996) according to their citation numbers. These books are followed by the studies of Miller (1987) and Hopwood (1987). It is determined that seven of the studies out of the 20 in Table 4 are published in the Journal of Accounting Organization and Society (AOS). When Handbook’s most utilized source is investigated (Table 7), it is seen that AOS is an international journal concerned with all aspects of the relationship between accounting and human behavior, organizational structures and processes, and the changing social and political environment of the enterprise (Information Pack: 2016). Adaptation of the studies of this journal (AOS) indicates how important the social and behavioral dimensions are for the field of management accounting.

Literature indicates that “Science in Action” by Latour is among the most important reference sources of social sciences. The relationship between the book and accounting can be evaluated under the content of actor-network theory (networking of individuals, technology, nature, theory, ideas and beliefs for the formation of a new field) (Justesen and Jan Mouritsen: 2011).

Some of the studies listed in the Handbook referenced publications like Milgrom and Robert’s (1992) “Economics, Organization and Management” and Williamson’s (1985) “The economic institutions of capitalism: firms, markets, relational contracting” showed that these studies take into account the field of economics and management as an indispensable part of accounting. It is determined that the oldest study is Administration (McKinsey, 1921) as a reference date, and the latest study is Cost Accounting: A Management Emphasis (Horngren and et. al, 2005) in the list. It is obtained that the main studies find place in two volumes of Handbook as reference while their dominance decreased in third volume.

Rankings of the most cited authors referenced in the Handbook are listed below in Table 5. Kaplan R. S. is the most cited author in the Handbooks whose two publications are also listed on the top of Table 4. Hopwood was the editor of Handbooks and AOS in that time and present editors of AOS; Miller and Shields are the authors located in the upper rows of the list. These findings showed that Handbooks have an important relationship with AOS in terms of references. Kaplan, Ittner and Banker are among the first three in the list and their citation frequency decreases in the third volume. The main reason for this decrease might be the decrease of the studies in the third volume.

Keywords of the studies referenced in the Handbook were taken from the abstract of these studies and the frequencies of these keywords were determined. The results showed that, technical terms such as performance measurement, Balanced Scorecard and allocation and management concepts like organization, strategy and construction are among the most used keywords in the references. In addition, the term of Empirical-Analysis has been frequently used in management accounting studies.

Journals of references that are used in the Handbook are investigated and the most frequently used 20 journals are listed in Table 7. The presence of the management journals are noteworthy as five of the journals listed below are among the fundamental management journals (Podsakoff et al., 2008: 649): Harvard Business Review, Academy of Management Journal, Management Science, Administrative Science Quarterly and Strategic Management Journal. This is the result of the direct relationship between management and accounting besides the Handbook’s framework on the field of management accounting.

Furthermore, Massie (1983: 116) has not ignored the issue of the relationship between management accounting and management and a sub-heading devoted to management accounting in his business management book. Modern business administration and management books mostly do not adopt such an approach.

Another important finding in the list is 14-% of the all citations go to the AOS. This journal is followed by The Accounting Review (5-%) and the Journal of Management Accounting Research (4-%). Additionally, Handbooks had the 5-% of the citations itself among the publications. This means that later volumes of the Handbook referenced the previous volumes. Accounting Historians Journal and Accounting, Business & Financial History are proof that investigated studies took accounting history into consideration.

Handbooks of Management Accounting Research are a collection of the important studies of the management accounting research investigated in this study. This study was conducted by analyzing the reference data of the studies in the handbook. Most cited publications, authors and most frequently keywords were determined and listed according to their rankings in this study.

In addition, the reference findings of the study were compared according to the volume numbers of the handbook. Evaluation of the results showed that the lack of publications left behind the basic sources in the third volume compared to the other two volumes. This situation might also be explained by interest later shown in the studies of the third volume. In other words, Table 1 showed that the third volume attracted fewer citations than the other volumes.

The contribution of the AOS is not limited to its publications; the editors of the journal, especially Hopwood, Miller and Shields have also contributed to the handbooks. Furthermore, studies of these authors are also included in the handbooks.

Although the framework of the handbook is management accounting, lots of studies in the reference list in Table 4 belong to fields such as management, organization and accounting history.