Lars Östman towards a general theory of financial control

Research  

 

It cannot be ignored during the early 21

st

 century that among accounting researchers there is 

growing interest in the relationships between “real world problems” and academic research – 

perhaps even a questioning attitude. Most research efforts have a specific and rather limited 

perspective – partitioning is common in research, too. Insights may no doubt be gained 

within such frames. However, clarifying perspectives and approaching integrative, linking 

issues are important strategies, if complicated real-world problems should be based on social 

research. Conventions and models beyond inter-subjective empirical rigour need to be 

approached in an analytical spirit; the actual, current roles of researchers often seem to be 

supporting and inventing new conventions and models.  

Often, explicit conclusions are too far-reaching, especially if they are transformed into 

something that is communicable to larger audiences. Social research, like other informational 

activities, includes story-telling exercised by a profession in relation to target groups in 

lecture rooms, media of various kinds – including academic journals – and the world of 

practical conduct. At abstract levels, the everyday logic of ordinary people sometimes 

coincides with simplifications within narrow professional frames, especially if such 

professional views are transformed into a public form and underline popular concepts that 

have strong rhetorical power, like “greed” and “transparency”.  

Complexity, rather than over-relativistic simplicity, should be a line for descriptions in 

social research, especially with respect to long-term effects. In many ways, research is 

exposed to the same mechanisms as other informational ventures that have been described 

above.  

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