Uses a rich academic and professional literature to demonstrate that the rise and plateau of the US quality movement was the outcome of a complex senior management decision process that extended well beyond the problem of closing a quality gap between US and Japanese competitors. Firms in many...

This study investigates professional and job‐related attitudes and behavioural intentions of 427 state and municipal governmental accountants from five southwestern states. While professional commitment has been investigated in terms of its impact on conflict, researchers have not investigated...

The decision to disclose social information in annual reports is a voluntary one. A positive model of the factors that may influence firms′ decisions to disclose social information is proposed. It is hypothesised that the decision may be affected by (a) social performance, (b) political...

According to most authors, a body of (formal) knowledge is the crucial trait of professions. It is the presumed existence of this knowledge which legitimises claims to expertise, professional powers, autonomy and control over work. The body of knowledge around which the financial accounting...

This study investigates whether public accountants in the United States and Taiwan perceive the motivational factors (risks and benefits) surrounding unethical business practices differently because of national culture. The study was based on the general proposition that perceptions would differ...

This article critiques “middle‐of‐the‐road” approaches to corporate social reporting and their cautions against radicalising the subject. The historicity of the concept of middle ground is challenged philosophically, politically and socially, by suggesting that its foundations reside...

The objective of this research was to determine the extent to which municipal budget variances are systematically biased, the direction of any biases, and the relationship between the biases and various political, economic, demographic and organisational factors. We compared budgeted and actual...

A decision of the US Supreme Court to require enforcement of an environmental standard in the cotton textile industry provides a unique opportunity to observe the market impact of social‐cost disclosures. This research examines the reaction of investors to an exogenous factor which has an...