Abstract
Purpose – The paper proposes a place-space duality, rather than a dualism, for accounting research.
Design/methodology/approach – The discussion is informed by the literature in human geography which, while developing the concept of space, has made an important distinction between abstract space and place as a site of experiential learning and memory.
Findings – The lack of a concept of place is a serious omission in accounting literature and perpetuates an abstract sense of space which can restrict the scope of accounting research.
Research limitations – The paper calls for further research to study accounting in place and to explore both the collective and individual senses of place, as well as conscious and unconscious place associations. We recognise that there is little prior accounting research on this topic and that there are challenges in conducting such interdisciplinary research, especially as there is not as yet much common ground between research in human geography and accounting, and little integration of the two literatures.
Practical implications – The paper proposes an accounting research agenda based on the place-space duality which reflects the strength of people-place relationships, including place identities, place attachment and place dependence.
Originality/value – The paper provides a critique of the conceptualisation of space in accounting research, identifies place-space as a duality (rather than a dualism) and suggests a novel distinction between studying accounting in context and in place.
Design/methodology/approach – The discussion is informed by the literature in human geography which, while developing the concept of space, has made an important distinction between abstract space and place as a site of experiential learning and memory.
Findings – The lack of a concept of place is a serious omission in accounting literature and perpetuates an abstract sense of space which can restrict the scope of accounting research.
Research limitations – The paper calls for further research to study accounting in place and to explore both the collective and individual senses of place, as well as conscious and unconscious place associations. We recognise that there is little prior accounting research on this topic and that there are challenges in conducting such interdisciplinary research, especially as there is not as yet much common ground between research in human geography and accounting, and little integration of the two literatures.
Practical implications – The paper proposes an accounting research agenda based on the place-space duality which reflects the strength of people-place relationships, including place identities, place attachment and place dependence.
Originality/value – The paper provides a critique of the conceptualisation of space in accounting research, identifies place-space as a duality (rather than a dualism) and suggests a novel distinction between studying accounting in context and in place.
Original language | English |
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Journal | Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal |
Publication status | Accepted/In press - 10 Sept 2024 |
Keywords
- Accounting
- Space
- Place
- Duality
- Experience
- People-Place Relationships