4 of 87

Expectations

Academic Importance
- Academic Debate
Practical Importance (if relevant)
Development of Research Question - Problematisation

- establishing the gap in the literature

Context/Location importance
Theoretical directions (if needed)
Research Questions
Listing the contributions (for some journals)
Plan for the paper

Slide

5 of 87

Academic Importance

Academic Debate

Does it come from the context?
Does it from the literature?

Specify the literature first more broadly where you are contributing

For instance, Corporate Social Responsibility, Earning Management, Corporate Governance, Corporate Board Literature?

Specify the debate within the literature

Find the debate within the board literature that you are contributing to

Slide

6 of 87

Comparing two articles

Ahmed and Uddin (Qual)
Corey et al (Quant)

Slide

7 of 87

Practical Importance

Connect it with current policy crises
Economic Development
Worldwide issues

Slide

8 of 87

Problematisation

Brief discussions of academic gaps in the literature
Identify what is missing in the literature
Identify how your research contributes to the missing part of the literature

Slide

9 of 87

Context

No study in this context is not sufficient argument!
Study on the USA data set perhaps an exception (does not further justification as they are largest economy in the world)
Importance of the context is very important for qualitative study (where they may be)

Linking the research question with the context
Signifying the data set
Economic? Political? Cultural? Historical?

Slide

10 of 87

Theoretical Directions

Theoretical directions are important (for Qualitative study)
Research gaps deriving from the theory
Brief explanations – how a new theoretical lens useful
For the quantitative study – theories enable to justify the hypothesis

Slide

11 of 87

Contributions and Plans

List your contributions as precisely as possible (not needed for many journals) – an example to be shown
Also clear plans

Slide

12 of 87

Examples

Core et al (Qual)
Ahmed and Uddin (Quants)

Slide

13 of 87

Critical Literature Review in Accounting Research�

Slide

14 of 87

What is a literature review?

“The selection of available documents … on the topic which contain information, ideas, data and evidence… [literature reviews are] written from a particular standpoint… to express certain views on the nature of the topic… and the effective evaluation of these documents”

Hart, 1998: pg. 13

Slide

15 of 87

Why conduct a literature review?

To gain a broad understanding of the subject area

What are the main issues? What is the state of debate?

To map the intellectual territory

What have people done? Where are the boundaries? Can I stretch these boundaries?

To help you identify a suitable gap in the research

Originality

Slide

16 of 87

The role of the literature review in your research

Allows you to generate ideas for a research topic / question / hypothesis
Prevents reinvention of the wheel

Replication, extension, expansion

Discover research recommendations
Evaluate what is ‘hot’ in a particular area

Slide

17 of 87

Planning a literature review

Before you start, identify:

The parameters of your search
The key words you intend to use
The databases you will use
How you are going to decide what is good, and what is… not so good.

Beware of information overload!

Slide

18 of 87

Planning a literature review

The parameters of your search

Subject areas and subtopics

Start broad and narrow down? Start small and build up?

Publication period

Past ten years? Past fifty years? Everything ever written?

Geographical scope
Literature type

Note: you may need to repeat this many times, for different parameters

Slide

19 of 87

Planning a literature review

The key words you intend to use

‘Five key words associated with the topic’
Your research question

The databases you will use

The Albert Sloman Library has a good collection of e-databases for you to use
Library catalogue
Google Scholar / Google
Researchgate

Slide

20 of 87

Planning a literature review

Parsing sources

Use journal rankings to identify well-ranked / reputable journals in your area
Use the Scopus Journal Ranking to find out more about the journal
Identify key academics / scholars in the area
Use reports from well-known agencies / think-tanks
Use reputable broadsheet newspapers

Slide

21 of 87

The literature search process

Once you begin the search, you will face the risk of information overload. Use your differentiation strategy to decide which articles / sources are useful and which are less useful
When in doubt – ask a lecturer / academic in the area

Slide

22 of 87

Beware of the Internet!

Search engines do not evaluate the quality of what you find
Many websites are commercial – be aware of biases!

Academic (.edu or .ac) or Government (.gov) websites are usually trustworthy

Wikipedia is only useful as a starting point: not to be quoted as part of academic work!

Slide

23 of 87

Critical Literature Review – DOs

Relates to your research question

Identifies key issues, themes, theories and methods

Demonstrates your knowledge of the topic and the main contributions of the papers you cite

Slide

24 of 87

Critical Literature Review - DOs

Highlights conflicting evidence/areas of controversy

Identifies weaknesses or limitations in studies/evaluative

Identifies of further potential research

Distinguishes between fact and opinion

Ensures it is up to date

Slide

25 of 87

Critical Literature Review – DOs

After reviewing the literature, summarize what has been done and what needs to be done
Remember you are arguing your point of why your study is important!
Then pose a formal research question or state a hypothesis—make sure this is clearly linked to your literature review

Slide

26 of 87

Critical Literature Review – DON’Ts

NOT a summary of all the literature on a topic
Dumping

Don’t put everything in, with no attempt to differentiate what is relevant

Too descriptive / lack of analysis

No reflective / evaluative aspects: just copying what the author says

No synthetizing

No particular themes or order, lacking flow and coherence

Failing to identify an appropriate gap and linking it to the research question

Slide

27 of 87

Moving towards a critical analysis

Slide

28 of 87

WRITING CRITICALLY - Example

Benston (2014) argued that principle based standards are better than rule based standards. Powers (2014) suggests otherwise.

Descriptive statement only (what the authors state)

Slide

29 of 87

WRITING CRITICALLY – Example 2

Benston (2014) argued that principle based standards are better than rule based standards because they help to reduce creative accounting. Powers (2014) suggests rule based standards are more appropriate as they provide bright line tests and reduce ambiguity.

Descriptive statement (what the authors state)
Explains why the authors reached their conclusions

Slide

30 of 87

WRITING CRITICALLY – Example 3

Powers (2014) argues in favour of rule based standards as they provide bright line tests and reduce ambiguity which makes them easier to apply and monitor. In contrast, Benston (2014) advocates that principle based standards are better than rule based standards because, despite the fact that they introduce subjectivity and professional judgement as Powers (2014) criticises, they reduce creative accounting through the removal of legal loopholes generated by the bright line rules. Creative accounting is a significant cost to society, therefore principle based standards can enhance societal welfare (Amat and Gowthorpe, 2003).

Describes, Explains, Analyses and Explores consequences: so what? Why does it matter if we have rule based or principle based standards?

Slide

31 of 87

WHAT IS A CRITICAL LITERATURE REVIEW?

A critical literature review is not:
A summary or description of research organised by author (Miles, 2014 stated that…Diggle, 2014 stated this…Brown, 2014 advocated that…), or chronologically
Never write by author – write by theme!!!

It is:
A map and assessment of existing research
Organised by themes-
Ideas should be linked and compared and contrasted

Slide

32 of 87

WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR IN A CRITICAL REVIEW?

Demonstration of knowledge of key, relevant, academic theories
Recognition of seminal authors and the contributions they made (not just citing them!)
Up to date/current thinking
Assesses strengths and weaknesses of literature
Focus on the topic and/or research question
Coherence of arguments
Clear and effective referencing

Slide

33 of 87

Which one of the following. Do you think are good statements to include in a literature review?

A	Jensen (1993) argues that boards of directors are ineffective. Hallock (1997) finds that CEO compensation is higher at firms with interlocked outside directors. Rosenstein and Wyatt (1990) provide evidence that shareholder wealth is affected by the proportion of outside directors.
B	The paper by Core at al. (1999) is organized into six sections. In Section 2, they review the prior empirical literature on board and ownership structure, CEO compensation, and firm performance. The sample is described and variables are defined in Section 3. In Section 4, they document ... A summary and conclusion is provided in Section 7.
C	Other empirical research examines whether certain board structures are associated with better firm value and performance. For example, Rosenstein and Wyatt (1990) provide evidence that shareholder wealth is affected by the proportion of outside directors by documenting …. Byrd and Hickman (1992) find that …. In contrast, Yermack (1996) finds no association between the percentage of outside directors and firm performance. Thus, the evidence for the importance of outside directors is mixed. …
D	Lambert et al. (1993) and Boyd (1994) document a positive relation between CEO compensation and the percentage of the board composed of outside directors, whereas Finkelstein and Hambrick (1989) find that compensation is unrelated to the percentage of outside directors on the board. The paper of Hou et al. (2014) enriches our understanding of how mandatory adoption of IFRS affects executive compensation in emerging markets.
E	Core at al. (1999) find that measures of board and ownership structure explain a significant amount of cross-sectional variation in CEO compensation, after controlling for standard economic determinants of pay. Moreover, the signs of the coefficients on the board and ownership structure variables suggest that CEOs earn greater compensation when governance structures are less effective.

Slide

34 of 87

Which one of the following. Do you think are good statements to include in a literature review?

C	Other empirical research examines whether certain board structures are associated with better firm value and performance. For example, Rosenstein and Wyatt (1990) provide evidence that shareholder wealth is affected by the proportion of outside directors by documenting …. Byrd and Hickman (1992) find that …. In contrast, Yermack (1996) finds no association between the percentage of outside directors and firm performance. Thus, the evidence for the importance of outside directors is mixed. …

Highlights conflicting evidence

Identify key issues

Distinguish between fact and opinion

Slide

35 of 87

Which one of the following. Do you think are good statements to include in a literature review?

A	Jensen (1993) argues that boards of directors are ineffective. Hallock (1997) finds that CEO compensation is higher at firms with interlocked outside directors. Rosenstein and Wyatt (1990) provide evidence that shareholder wealth is affected by the proportion of outside directors.
B	The paper by Core at al. (1999) is organized into six sections. In Section 2, they review the prior empirical literature on board and ownership structure, CEO compensation, and firm performance. The sample is described and variables are defined in Section 3. In Section 4, they document ... A summary and conclusion is provided in Section 7.
D	Lambert et al. (1993) and Boyd (1994) document a positive relation between CEO compensation and the percentage of the board composed of outside directors, whereas Finkelstein and Hambrick (1989) find that compensation is unrelated to the percentage of outside directors on the board. The paper of Hou et al. (2014) enriches our understanding of how mandatory adoption of IFRS affects executive compensation in emerging markets.
E	Core at al. (1999) find that measures of board and ownership structure explain a significant amount of cross-sectional variation in CEO compensation, after controlling for standard economic determinants of pay. Moreover, the signs of the coefficients on the board and ownership structure variables suggest that CEOs earn greater compensation when governance structures are less effective.

Too descriptive/lack of analysis

No particular themes or order, lacking flow

Put everything in, but is it relevant?

No reflective: just copy what is said in the abstract

Slide

36 of 87

Read the extract of the literature review of the paper assigned and identify which sentences:

Relate to research question

Identify key issues

Demonstrate your knowledge of the topic

Distinguish between fact and opinion

Highlight conflicting evidence

Summarize what has be done and what needs to be done

Pose a formal research question that is linked to your literature review

Slide

37 of 87

Core, Holthausen, and Larcker, ‘Corporate governance, chief executive officer compensation, and firm performance’ Journal of Financial Economics, Volume 51, Issue 3, 1999,371-406 The academic literature on corporate governance examines the efficacy of alternative ownership structures and alternative structures for the board of directors. While there is mounting evidence of the failure of certain governance structures to motivate managers to increase firm performance, the empirical evidence to date is mixed and gives little coherent evidence for the shape of an optimal governance structure. There is a growing literature suggesting that U.S. boards of directors are ineffective. For example, Jensen (1993) argues that boards of directors are ineffective because board culture discourages conflict, …. Crystal (1991) argues that boards of directors are ineffective in setting appropriate levels of compensation because …. The relation between top executive compensation and board composition has been examined in many prior empirical papers, with mixed findings. For example, Lambert et al. (1993) and Boyd (1994) document a positive relation between CEO compensation and the percentage of the board composed of outside directors, whereas Finkelstein and Hambrick (1989) find that compensation is unrelated to the percentage of outside directors on the board. Other characteristics of the board have also been explored. Hallock (1997) finds that CEO compensation is higher at firms with … Other empirical research examines whether certain board structures are associated with better firm value and performance. For example, Rosenstein and Wyatt (1990) provide evidence that shareholder wealth is affected by the proportion of outside directors by documenting …. Byrd and Hickman (1992) find that …. In contrast, Yermack (1996) finds no association between the percentage of outside directors and firm performance. Thus, the evidence for the importance of outside directors is mixed. … Overall, the impact of board and ownership structure on executive pay and firm performance is unclear given the mixed nature of the empirical results. In order to extend this literature, we examine the association between …. More importantly, we estimate the association between ….

Slide

38 of 87

What to avoid in a literature review

Dumping

Put everything in, with no attempt to differentiate what is relevant

Too descriptive / lack of analysis

No reflective / evaluative aspects: just copying what the author says

No synthethising

No particular themes or order, lacking flow and coherence

Failing to identify an appropriate gap and linking it to the research question

Slide

39 of 87

Examples

Core et al (for both Quants and Qual)

Slide

40 of 87

Writing a theoretical Framework

What is a theory?
Why is it necessary for qualitative study?
What does it do?
Is it necessary for Quantitative Study?
Sources of theory:

Theoretical framework or conceptual framework might be developed from the existing literature
Alternatively, borrow from other disciplines: economics (quantitative studies), sociology, anthropology (for qualitative studies).

Slide

41 of 87

Introduction

Defining Theory
Role of theory in accounting research (why theory)
Theories in Qualitative Accounting Research

Slide

42 of 87

Background: Why theory in accounting?

Accounting has no theory:
Practical techniques – hence no need of theory. Professional qualifications indeed reflect atheoretical education
We argue techniques implicitly rest on theory, be it of causes and effects or an understanding of what clients want or need.
Theory is essential to understanding why, how and for whom accounting works. Without the underpinnings of a theory it is little other than folk wisdom or ‘magic’, which renders its claims to constitute a corpus of knowledge warranting academic or professional status questionable (Smith, 1998; Sutton and Staw, 1995).
The etymology of theory derives from ‘truth’: given accounting aspires to ‘true and fair’ views ignoring theory is perilous. Without theory it is difficult to design effective systems for regulation, accountability, decision-making or control.

Slide

43 of 87

How can we define theory?

Conceptual order on complex empirical phenomena
Setting a boundary
Reflections on discipline knowledge base
Perhaps theory is more than all the above

Slide

44 of 87

Questions around theory?

Over use of theory – hardly be able to understand the empirical story
Fed up on theory! (accumulate evidence and hence knowledge)
Theory causing us problem – no relevance to practice
Unified Theory
Value of new theory
Should we go for high theoretical abstraction or middle range?
May be we should just focus on mechanism?

Slide

45 of 87

What does the theory do?

What role it should play in creating, maintaining, and shaping what type of knowledge we value in the field.
Jurisdictional value – Legitimacy of knowledge
We have disagreements what theory can do: individual biases?

Slide

46 of 87

Let’s talk about the disagreements what theory can do

The dominant view: Positivist/empiricist view

This is a means of knowledge accumulation.
Positivist value theory for its ability to capture and summarize the phenomenal world.
An universal theory which captures empirical reality.
Empirical knowledge will ultimately build the theory of everything accounting?

Slide

47 of 87

Interpretive/rationalist view

We must have a theory – theory first!
Knowledge abstraction (as opposed to empirical accumulation)The other extreme of empiricism
Theory offers a perceptual lens that structures sensory experience. Without it, researchers will fail to organize or recognise experience
Rationalists value theory for its logic.
Without logic, no coherence and explanations
Past enables to understand the future

Slide

48 of 87

Critical/Normative

Many accounting researchers see a powerful normative value in theory.
Appropriate theory in order to see new light and see the world what might be.
Critical researchers do not see any value of taking no “apparent position”
Argue that nothing is free of political and moral assumptions, normative theorists embrace the notion that no theory is value free.
More interested to use theory to project a particular reality (ambition). Marshall (1990) argues: theory makes some things visible and potentially controllable but also renders other issues and parties invisible: it not only reflects particular understandings of the world but also creates them.

Slide

49 of 87

Critical/Normative View

Creating a new reality perhaps the best use of theory
Use theories to dismantle existing facade of reality presented to readers/world
Unpack the motives (vested interests) of actors and the processes
Articulate new possibilities and new world

Slide

50 of 87

Theory from Where?

Given the absence of a distinct accounting theory one must turn to other social science disciplines to make sense of practices.
Sources for theory for accounting scholars are wide ranging: economics, psychology, sociology, anthropology etc.
Accounting researchers delved into interdisciplinary studies to search for theories.
This comes naturally to qualitative researchers as they see themselves as part of the research process and identify accounting as social practice.

Slide

51 of 87

Social Theories for Accounting Researchers

Use of social theories are growing in accounting.
Four categories based on their perceived commonality of central themes and potential contributions.

the micro creation and interpretation of accounting;
accounting discourses and text;
the political economy of accounting; and
institutional Analyses

Slide

52 of 87

Micro Creation and Interpretation (Interpretivism)

The micro creation and interpretation of accounting includes ethnographic, grounded, structuration, and social studies of science theories (Boland, 1993).
Researchers normally conduct detailed case studies to establish how the form, meaning and employment of accounting systems and data are derived.
They assume that common understandings of reality derive from our social interactions with others.
Challenges the idea of reality exist independent of actors. Rules/standards can only be apparent if actors recognise it - it does not have stand alone existence
A number of social theories adopted by accounting researchers to carry forward this message: structuration theory, actor network theory etc.

Slide

53 of 87

Accounting Research in Interpretive Perspective

This underlying theme is - ‘socially constructed’ nature of accounting practices - which have arisen out of interaction sequences between organizational actors.
Dent (1990)’s study different ‘organizational realities’ within an organization which was being previously driven by engineering and operations logic replaced by management accounting logic.
Boland (1993)’s study – same ‘variance report’ but came to different conclusions by managers
Mourtisen (1999) reported that CFO, CEO and Production Manager of a firm had altogether different meanings for production related issues for example ‘flexibility’ and ‘innovation’.
Quatrone and Hopper (2005) analysed implementations of Enterprise Resource Planning systems (ERPs), namely SAP, in two large MNOs – ended up being two different object owing to the social interactions of actors – draws on Latour’s idea of “translation”

28/09/2022

Slide

54 of 87

Accounting Discourses and Text (Interpretive and Critical/Normative)

Focus on (not on social interactions) on discourses conveyed by texts and conversations (accounting text/reporting/rules/standards). These are post-modernist post-modern (e.g. Derrida, 1978) and post-structural (e.g. Foucault, 1972; Baudrillard, 1975)
Their interest is not just in analysing what is in the text but also what it excludes.
More recent works are emerging in these areas are: critical discourse analysis (Norman Fairclough) and Political Discourse Theory by Laclau and Mouf
For them, no need to debate about the subject and object – all collapses on discourse.
Acknowledge the reality exist (independent of subject) but no use because discourse rules the world
Understanding discourse would lead to understanding accounting practices

Slide

55 of 87

Discourses and Signs in Accounting Studies

Graham (2008) examines accounting signs, claiming that accounting numbers are merely textual images but are powerful in contemporary societies. For example, pension accounting signs, widely used by investors, creditors and government agencies blur the boundaries between the private and the public, the legal identity of organisations, and the actual functioning of their supply chains.
Miller and O’Leary’s (1993, 1994) Foucauldian study of Caterpillar’s Decatur (Illinois) plant examined how economic and political discourses in the 1980s re-conceived the worker as an ‘economic citizen’ of the corporation and the nation.

Slide

56 of 87

Political Economy of Accounting (Critical/Normative)

Political economy approach is more deductive and retroductive, and lay greater emphasis on macro analyses of structural factors, although micro activities are not ignored (Ashraf and Uddin, 2015).
Influenced by Marxism, especially variants from its classical form (neo-Marixism)
Emphasis on how accounting practice is implicated in the creations and perpetuation of an unequal society (unequal distribution of wealth, education and justice).
Provides a platform for critique, change and improvement, particularly within organisations and generality in society.
A number of theories can be loosely categorised under this banner: Critical Realism, Bourdeiousian framework, cultural political economy framework, Labour Process Theory etc.

Slide

57 of 87

Accounting Studies

Uddin and Hopper (2001), adopting a (cultural) political economy, examine how accounting practices at the point of production are linked not only to power, societal institutions (notably the state) and conflicts over economic surplus, but also local cultures and organisational dynamics.
Ashraf and Uddin (2015) identified how hegemonies of two powerful group of managers shaped the management accounting changes with severe consequences for workers and linked them with the power struggles at the level of the state.

Slide

58 of 87

Institutional Analyses of Accounting (Critical/Normative?)

Institutional analyses (both OlE and NIS), close to political economy approaches, but less normative ideals
Institutional theories (recent ones) emphasises both macro and micro aspects of accounting practices
focuses on the role of accounting in generating rules, norms and routines within an organisation.
Also examines how organisations conform to prevailing external rules and beliefs rooted in cultures, politics and history.

Slide

59 of 87

Institutional Studies

A more nuanced and sophisticated analysis of institutional environments and how actors manage conflicting expectations of multiple institutions is an important area of contemporary accounting research (Greenwood et al., 2011).
For instance, Greenwood and Suddaby’s (2006) analysis of how Canadian accounting firms changed the institutions they were embedded in.
Looking inwards, Burns (2000), The OIE framework of accounting and power mobilisation enabled the dynamics of change processes to be teased out.
It identified how power over resources, decision making and meanings facilitated accounting change; barriers to change; and conflicts that emerge when accounting routines fail to permeate practices.

Slide

60 of 87

How to write the theoretical framework section

The equivalent part of the theoretical framework section in Quantitative study is: Research Design
This is one of the most important parts of the paper.
Write as simply and precisely as possible
Explain all the relevant elements with illustrations – perhaps a way to connect with your study
Justification of why this theory is most important
Explain how this theory enables the paper’s arguments.

- The theory should always provide/say more than what a usual descriptive empirical story would say

Slide

61 of 87

Examples

Landsman et al., 2012
Ahmed and Uddin., 2018

Slide

62 of 87