Special Issue on Action Research

Special issue call for papers from Journal of Applied Accounting Research

Call for papers

Journal of Applied Accounting Research

Special issue on Action Research

Guest Editors: Hanno Roberts, Norwegian School of Management BI, Norway and Olle Westin, Orebro University, Sweden

The practice and practising of accounting is receiving increased attention. Changes in business practices, regulatory frameworks, and competitive conditions mean that accounting changes shape and is expected to play new roles in the day-to-day life of organizations. Research on these new roles, shapes, and changed meanings of accounting requires taking a close look at what actually happens, at catching accounting in action rather than before or after it changes. Involvement in the action instead of looking at the action from a distance means a renewed interest in doing action research. An established research method in other social sciences, action research is relatively little used in the accounting discipline. This Special Issue intends to start decreasing that unfamilairity by providing insights into action research in accounting.

This special issue aims to provide insights into the processes and outcomes of doing action research in accounting, incorporating settings in public, private or not-for-profit sectors. In particular, we are interested in papers that provide expereriences and lessons learned from undertaking action research in accounting which address but are not limited to:

The action researcher’s specific formats and processes of engagement with accounting practice, notably in the joint formulation of problem situations and subsequent involvement in the implementation of solution trajectories;
The selection of research questions out of the abundance, richness and variety of daily organizational and accounting processes;
The handling of organizational and accounting shopfloor politics in moving the action research project forward;
The continuously changing meanings and interpretations originating from the action research project and their impact on the research question(s);
The double-bind of the action researcher’s role in keeping distance in order to conceptualize while simultaneously being involved in the action of accounting praxis.

Case (his)stories of accounting action research are also welcome but will need to identify the specific action research components when the process unfolded in contrast to what was planned or expected beforehand. We estimate such ‘surprises’ being of key value in generating new insights into how accounting actually works in practice. We specifically welcome papers that are co-authored by a mixed team of practitioners and researchers. This in order to give evidence of both the richness and the contributions of doing joint research across the practice-academe divide.

The deadline for submissions is 30th June, 2009

Please prepare your manuscript according to JAAR guidelines, available at: http://info.emeraldinsight.com/products/journals/author_guidelines.htm?id=jaar

All enquiries and electronic submissions of papers should be sent to BOTH Hanno Roberts and Olle Westin, e-mails: hanno.roberts@bi.no, olle.westin@oru.se