A Critical Review of Tests of Gray's Theory of Cultural Relevance and Suggestions for Future Research  

Oleh:

Doupnik, Timothy S. ; Tsakumis, George T.

Jenis: Article from Journal - ilmiah internasional
Dalam koleksi: Journal of Accounting Literature vol. 2004 no. 23 (2004), page 001-048.
Topik: Public Sector Accounting; PSA; Gray's Cultural Accounting Framework; Hofstede's Cultural Framework
Fulltext: JAL 04 23 001.pdf (3.39MB)

Isi artikel

The objective of this paper is to build upon the summary begun by Chanchani and MacGregor [1999] to determine the current state of knowledge and provide a guide for future research. We constrain our scope to those studies that have attempted to empirically test Gray's theory of cultural relevance. We categorize the research questions investigated and critically evaluate the methodologies used to do so. We attempt to determine whether the framework has been subjected to adequate empirical inquiry so as to "prove" its validity. We conclude in the negative and we generate a number of suggestions for future research. We also formalize a partial refinement of Gray's cultural accounting framework to act as a guide to future research. Specifically, we suggest that future research should focus on the implications of Gray's framework for individual accountants' behavior with respect to application of financial reporting rules. This paper is organized as follows. In Section 2, we explain the practical importance of research that examines the influence of culture on financial reporting. Section 3 describes general theoretical frameworks of accounting development and explains why these frameworks are inadequate for empirical testing. We then describe Hofstede's cultural framework in Section 4. This is the cultural framework used predominantly in accounting research. Section 5 introduces Gray's theoretical model of the influence of culture on financial reporting. The primary objective of this paper is achieved in Section 6, where we review the empirical studies examining the relationship between culture and financial reporting in the context of Gray's framework. These studies are divided into those that use countries and those that use individual accountants as the unit of analysis. Section 7 provides suggestions for future research. We note the areas that have not yet been subjected to sufficient empirical testing, and we propose that future research concentrate on individual level studies using an experimental approach. The final section presents conclusions.

Opini Anda

Klik untuk menuliskan opini Anda tentang koleksi ini!

Kembali