Structuration theory applicability at management accounting studies in Brazil

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this research is to identify how Giddens' structurationist approach has been used in the national accounting literature. Additionally, directions are sought for the development and construction of the theoretical body and empirical evidence, considering the divergences identified at international level.

Method and approach: The field of this investigation consists of articles published in Brazilian journals in the areas of accounting and administration. The interpretation of the empirical field was organized in two stages: (i) Applicability, and (ii) Analysis of the elements of the Structuring Theory in the change and construction of the analyzed social unit.

Contributions: Evidence illustrates that the main difficulties and points of attention in which empirical management accounting research with the theoretical lens of the Structuring Theory must pay attention to are related to conceptual inaccuracies, both in the discussion of definitions and in the use as a guiding background of the search. These findings were found in a similar analysis in the studies by Englund and Gerdin (2014), internationally, indicating that the field of management accounting research has been mirroring international research. From this perspective, this research contributes to the theoretical construction of the structuralist sociological approach, by analyzing and giving theoretical and methodological directions to national investigations, which are still scarce, in management accounting, according to Englund and Gerdin (2014), Roberts (2014) and Lourenço and Sauerbronn (2018)’s arguments.

Originality and relevance: The research provides reflections on the conceptual inaccuracies of empirical studies when adopting Giddens' structuration approach in the Brazilian area of management accounting. Thus, by presenting a discussion that considers the organization of the social world in its broadest spectrum, this study contributed to the expansion of the very notion of accounting.