This paper reflects upon the status of historical research in the contemporary
accounting and management research literature, briefly revisits some of its
fundamental methodological dimensions and considers the multiple potential roles
which it has the capacity to fulfill. The author then selects a number of
methodological and research subjects which show signs of maintaining their momentum
or deserve experimentation or increased application. These include the historical
narrative, “macro” literary style narrative histories, business
history lessons for accounting and management history, critical theory informed
research, emerging social history, and opportunities for research employing oral and
visual history. The paper concludes with reflections on the dividends for the
individual historian and the historical research community that may accrue from
opportunities taken up in the new millennium.
Abrahamson, E.
, (1996),
“Management Fashion”
, Academy of Management Review, Vol.21,
No.1, pp.
254-285
.
2.
Atkinson, R.F.
, (1978), Knowledge and Explanation in History: An
Introduction to the Philosophy,
London: Macmillan Press
.
3.
Barzun, J.
and
Graff, H.F.
, (1985), The Modern Researcher,
New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich
.
4.
Bedian, A.G.
, (1998),
“Exploring the Past”
, Journal of Management History, Vol.4,
No.1, pp.
4-15
.
5.
Breuilly, J.
, (1988), “What is Social History
…?”, in
Gardiner, J.
(ed.), What is History Today …?,
Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: MacMillan Press
, pp.48-51.
6.
Burke, P.
, (1991), “Overture: The New History, its Past
and its Future”, in
Burke, P.
(ed.), New Perspectives on Historical Writing,
Cambridge: Polity Press
, pp.1-23.
7.
Cannadine, D.
, (1988), “What is Social History
…?”, in
Gardiner, J.
(ed.), What is History Today …?,
Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: MacMillan Press
, pp.54-56.
8.
Carnegie, G.D.
and
Napier, C.J.
, (1996),
“Critical and Interpretive Histories: Insights into
Accounting's Present and Future Through its Past”
, Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal,
Vol.9, No.3, pp.
7-39
.
9.
Carr, E.H.
, (1961), What is History?,
Harmodsworth, Middlesex, England: Penguin Books
.
10.
Carson, P.P.
and
Carson, K.
, (1998),
“Theoretically Grounding Management History as a Relevant and
Valuable Form of Knowledge”
, Journal of Management History, Vol.4,
No.1, pp.
29-42
.
11.
Clarke, J.C.D.
, (1988), “What is Social History
…?”, in
Gardiner, J.
(ed.), What is History Today …?,
Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: MacMillan Press
, pp.51-52.
12.
Coleman, D.
, (1987),
“The Uses and Abuses of History”
, Business History, Vol.29, No.2, pp.
141-156
.
13.
Collins, M.
and
Bloom, R.
, (1991),
“The Role of Oral History in Accounting”
, Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal,
Vol.4, No.4, pp.
23-31
.
14.
Committee on Accounting History
, (1970),
“Committee on Accounting History”
, The Accounting Review, Vol.xlvSupplement, pp.
53-64
.
15.
Erickson, C.
, (1980), Great Harry: The Extravagant Life of Henry
VIII,
New York: Summit Books
.
16.
Fayol, H.
, (1949), General and Industrial Management(translated
by C. Storrs)
London: Pitman
.
17.
Financial Accounting Standards Board
, (1976), Conceptual Framework for Financial Accounting and
Reporting: Elements of Financial Statements and Their Measurement,
Stamford, Connecticut: Financial Accounting
Standards Board
.
18.
Flesher, D.L.
and
Samson, W.D.
, (1990),
“What is Publishable Accounting History Research: An Editorial View”
, The Accounting Historians Journal, Vol.17,
No.1, pp.
1-4
.
19.
Fleichman, R.K.
,
Kalbers, L.P.
and
Parker, L.D.
, (1996b),
“Expanding the Dialogue: Industrial Revolution Costing Historiography”
, Critical Perspectives on Accounting, Vol.7,
No.3, pp.
315-337
.
20.
Fleischman, R.K.
,
Mills, P.A.
and
Tyson, T.N.
, (1996a),
“A Theoretical Primer For Evaluating and Conducting Historical
Research in Accounting”
, Accounting History, NS Vol.1, No.1, pp.
55-75
.
21.
Fleischman, R.K.
and
Tyson, T.N.
, (1997),
“Archival Researchers: An Endangered Species?”
, The Accounting Historians Journal, Vol.24,
No.2, pp.
91-109
.
22.
Funnell, W.
, (1996),
“Preserving History in Accounting: Seeking Common Ground Between
‘New’ and ‘Old’ Accounting History”
, Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal,
Vol.9, No.4, pp.
38-64
.
23.
Funnell, W.
, (1998),
“The Narrative and its Place in the New Accounting History: The
Rise of the Counternarrative”
, Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal,
Vol.11, No.2, pp.
142-162
.
24.
Gaffikin, M.J.R.
, (1992), “Toward a Taxonomy of Research Methods
in Accounting”, in
Boys, P.
and
Freer, J.
(eds.), Accounting History 1976-86: An Anthology,
New York: Garland Publishing Inc.
, pp.19-59.
25.
Gephart, Jr. R.P.
, (1996),
“Postmodernism and the Future History of Management: Comments on
History as Science”
, Journal of Management History, Vol.2,
No.3, pp.
90-96
.
26.
Goldberg, L.
, (1974),
“The Future of the Past in Accounting”
, The Accountant's Magazine, Vol.68,
No.820, pp.
405-410
.
27.
Gulick, L.
and
Urwick, L.
, (eds.) (1937), Papers on the Science of Administration,
New York: Institute of Public Administration
.
28.
Guthrie, J.
and
Parker L.D.
, (1999),
“Performance Auditing in the Australian Federal Public Sector: A
Malleable Masque”
, Abacus, Vol.35, No.3, October, pp.
302-332
.
29.
Hamerow, T.S.
, (1987), Reflections on History and Historians,
Madison: University of Wisconsin Press
.
30.
Hamilton, P.
, (1996),
“Are Oral Historians Losing the Plot?”
, The Oral History Association of Australia Journal,
No.18, pp.
44-46
.
31.
Hammond, T.
, (1997),
“From Complete Exclusion to Minimal Inclusion: African Americans
and the Public Accounting Industry, 1965-1988”
, Accounting, Organizations and Society, Vol.22,
No.1, pp.
29-54
.
32.
Hammond, T.
and
Sikka, P.
, (1996),
“Radicalizing Accounting History: The Potential of Oral History”
, Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal,
Vol.9, No.3, pp.
79-97
.
33.
Hammond, T.
and
Streeter, D.W.
, (1994),
“Overcoming Barriers: Early African-American Certified Public Accountants”
, Accounting, Organizations and Society, Vol.19,
No.3, pp.
271-288
.
34.
Harper, D.
, (1994), “On the Authority of the Image: Visual
Methods at the Crossroads”, in
Denzin, N.K.
and
Lincoln, Y.S.
(eds.), Handbook of Qualitative Research,
Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications
, pp.403-412.
35.
Harvey, C.
and
Jones, G.
, (1990),
“Business History in Britain into the 1990s”
, Business History, Vol.32, No.1, pp.
5-16
.
36.
Hopkins, K.
, (1988), “What is Social History
…?”, in
Gardiner, J.
(ed.), What is History Today …?,
Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: MacMillan Press
, pp.53-54.
37.
Jenkins, K.
, (1997), “Introduction: On being Open About Our
Closures”, in
Jenkins, K.
(ed.) The Postmodern History Reader,
London: Routledge
, pp.1-30.
38.
Lee, T.A.
,
“A Systematic View of the History of the World of Accounting”
, Accounting, Business and Financial History, Vol.1,
No.1, pp.
73-107
.
39.
Lehman, C.R.
, (1992),
“‘Herstory’ in Accounting: The First Eighty Years”
, Accounting, Organizations and Society, Vol.17,
No.3/4, pp.
261-285
.
40.
Lewis, N.R.
,
Parker, L.D.
and
Sutcliffe, P.
, (1984),
“Financial Reporting to Employees: the Pattern of Development
1919 to 1979”
, Accounting, Organizations and Society, Vol.9,
No.3/4, pp.
275-289
.
41.
Llewellyn, S.
, (1999),
“Narratives in Accounting and Management Research”
, Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal,
Vol.12, No.2, pp.
220-236
.
42.
Loft, A.
, (1987), Cost Accounting in Britain in the 1920s: The Life
and Work of the Professional Cost Accountant,
Copenhagen: Copenhagen Business School
.
43.
Ludtke, A.
, (1995), “Introduction: What is the History of
Everyday Life and Who are its Practitioners?”, in
Ludtke, A.
(ed.), The History of Everyday Life: Reconstructing Historical
Experiences and Ways of Life,
Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press
.
44.
Manning, P.K.
and
Cullum-Swan, B.
, (1994), “Narrative, Content, and Semiotic
Analysis”, in
Denzin, N.K.
and
Lincoln, Y.S.
(eds.), Handbook of Qualitative Research,
Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications
, pp.463-477.
45.
Mathias, P.
, (1993),
“Business History and Accounting History: A Neighbourly Relationship”
, Accounting, Business and Financial History, Vol.3,
No.3, pp.
253-273
.
46.
McKinlay, A.
, (1992),
“British Business History: A Review of the Periodical Literature
for 1990”
, Business History, Vol.34, No.2, pp.
1-11
.
47.
Metcalf, H.C.
and
Urwick, L.
, (eds.) (1941), Dynamic Administration: The Collected Papers
of Mary Parker Follett,
London: Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons
.
48.
Miller, P.
,
Hopper, T.
and
Laughlin, R.
, (1991),
“The New Accounting History: An Introduction”
, Accounting, Organizations and Society, Vol.16,
No.5/6, pp.
395-403
.
49.
Mills, P.
, (1993),
“Accounting History as Social Science: A Cautionary Note”
, Accounting, Organizations and Society, Vol.18,
No.7/8, pp.
801-803
.
50.
Mumford, M.
, (1991),
“Chartered Accountants as Business Managers: An Oral History Perspective”
, Accounting, Business and Financial History, Vol.1,
No.2, pp.
123-140
.
51.
Nobes, C.
, (1992),
“A Political History of Goodwill in the UK: An Illustration of
Cyclical Standard Setting”
, Abacus, Vol.28, No.2, pp.
142-160
.
52.
Oldroyd, D.
, (1999),
“Historiography, Causality, and Positioning: An Unsystematic View
of Accounting History”
, Accounting Historians Journal, Vol.26,
No.1, pp.
83-102
.
53.
Parker, L.D.
, (1986), Developing Control Concepts in the 20th
Century,
New York: Garland Publications
.
54.
Parker, L.D.
, (1987), “Discussions with Professor L. Goldberg
(Emeritus, University of Melbourne) on the History of Australian Academic
Accounting Development”, Academy of Accounting
Historians Research Centre,
Georgia State University, USA
(videotape).
55.
Parker, L.D.
, (1994),
“Impressions of a Scholarly Gentleman: Professor Louis Goldberg”
, The Accounting Historians Journal, Vol.21,
No.2, pp.
1-40
.
56.
Parker, L.D.
, (1997),
“Informing Historical Research in Accounting and Management:
Traditions, Philosophies and Opportunities”
, The Accounting Historians Journal, Vol.24,
No.2, pp.
111-149
.
57.
Peltonen, T.
, (1998),
“Narrative Construction of Expatriate Experience and Career
Cycle: Discursive Patterns in Finnish Stories of International Career”
, The International Journal of Human Resource Management,
Vol.9, No.5, pp.
875-892
.
58.
Penrose, H.
, (1998),
“A Weighty Responsibility: Reflections on the Practice of Oral History”
, The Oral History Association of Australia Journal,
No.20, pp.
19-20
.
59.
Pindur, W.
,
Rogers, S.E.
and
Kim, P.S.
, (1995),
“The History of Management: A Global Perspective”
, Journal of Management History, Vol.1,
No.1, pp.
59-77
.
60.
Plumb, J.H.
, (1988), The Making of An Historian: The Collected Essays of
J.H. Plumb,
New York: Harvester Wheatsheaf
.
61.
Porter, D.H.
, (1981), The Emergence of the Past,
Chicago: The University of Chicago Press
.
62.
Previts, G.J.
, (1992), “‘Pawing Over the
Past’: Luncheon Remarks”, in
Boys, P.
and
Freer, J.
(eds.), Accounting History 1976-86: An Anthology,
New York: Garland Publishing Inc.
, pp.5-9.
63.
Previts, G.J.
,
Parker, L.D.
and
Coffman, E.N.
, (1990a),
“Accounting History: Definition and Relevance”
, Abacus, Vol.26, No.1, pp.
1-16
.
64.
Previts, G.J.
,
Parker, L.D.
and
Coffman, E.N.
, (1990b),
“An Accounting Historiography: Subject Matter and Methodology”
, Abacus, Vol.26, No.2, pp.
136-158
.
65.
Prins, G.
, (1991), “Oral History”, in
Burke, P.
(ed.), New Perspectives on Historical Writing,
Cambridge: Polity Press
, pp.114-139.
66.
Ritchie, D.A.
, (1995),
“Oral History's Third Wave: New Directions in Public
Presentation in the United States”
, The Oral History Association of Australia Journal,
No.17, pp.
14-19
.
67.
Robertson, B.M.
, (1996), Oral History Handbook, Adelaide: Oral History
Association of Australia (South Australian Branch) Inc., third edition.
68.
Samuel, R.
, (1988), “What is Social History
…?”, in
Gardiner, J.
(ed.), What is History Today …?,
Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: MacMillan Press
, pp.42-48.
69.
Scorzman, T.A.
(ed.), (1993), A Practical Introduction to Videohistory: The
Smithsonian Institute and Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Experiment,
Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company
.
70.
Scott, J.
, (1991), “Women's
History”, in
Burke, P.
(ed.), New Perspectives on Historical Writing,
Cambridge: Polity Press
, pp.42-66.
71.
Schreuder, D.
, (1994),
“The Heroic Study of Records: Archive and Textual Sources of
Historical Writing”
, The Oral History Association of Australia Journal,
No.16, pp.
67-69
.
72.
Sharpe, J.
, (1991), “History From
Below”, in
Burke, P.
(ed.), New Perspectives on Historical Writing,
Cambridge: Polity Press
, pp.24-41.
73.
Spacek, L.
, (1985), The Growth of Arthur Andersen & Co.,
1928-1973: An Oral History,
Arthur Andersen & Co.
74.
Tholfsen, T.R.
, (1967), Historical Thinking: An Introduction,
New York: Harper and Row
.
75.
Thompson, P.
, (1988), The Voice of the Past: Oral History,
Oxford: Oxford University Press
, second edition.
76.
Thomson, D.
, (1969), The Aims of History: Values of the Historical
Attitude,
London: Thames and Hudson
.
77.
Tosh, J.
, (1991), The Pursuit of History: Aims, Methods and New
Directions in the Study of Modern History,
London: Longman
, second edition.
78.
Tuchman, G.
, (1994), “Historical Social Science:
Methodologies, Methods and Meanings”, in
Denzin, N.K.
and
Lincoln, Y.S.
(eds.), Handbook of Qualitative Research,
Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications
, pp.306-323.
79.
Tyson, T.
, (1996),
“Rendering the Unfamiliar Intelligible: Discovering the Human
Side of Accounting's Past Through Oral History Interviews”
, The Accounting Historians Journal, Vol.23,
No.2, pp.
87-109
.
80.
Urwick, L.F.
, (1956), The Pattern of Management,
Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press
.
81.
Ville, S.
, (1992),
“An Historiographical Assessment of New Zealand Business History”
, Business History, Vol.34, No.2, pp.
86-102
.
82.
Vincent, J.
, (1995), An Intelligent Person's Guide to History,
London: Gerald Duckworth & Co. Ltd.
83.
Waldman, M.R.
, (1980), Toward a Theory of Historical Narrative: A Case
Study in Perso-Islamicate Historiography,
Columbus: Ohio State University Press
.
84.
Walker, S.P.
, (1998),
“How to Secure Your Husband's Esteem. Accounting and
Private Patriarchy in the British Middle Class Household During the
Nineteenth Century”
, Accounting, Organizations and Society, Vol.23,
No.5/6, pp.
485-514
.
85.
Zeff, S.
, (1966), The American Accounting Association: Its First 50 Years,
New York: Prentice Hall
.
