Committed to professionalism: Organizational responses of mid-tier accounting firms to conflicting institutional logics

Accounting, Organizations and Society

Volumn 38, Issue 2, 2013, Pages 130-148

  Lander, Michel W ^a   Koene, Bas A S ^b   Linssen, Shelly N ^b  

^a HEC PARIS   (France)

^b ERASMUS UNIVERSITY   (Netherlands)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 84873570776     PISSN: 03613682     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.aos.2012.11.001     Document Type: Article

References (119)

1. Abbott A. The system of professions: An essay on the division of expert labor 1988, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL.
2. Ackroyd S., Muzio D. The reconstructed professional firm: Explaining change in English legal practices. Organization Studies 2007, 28:729-747.
3. Ahroni Y. Internationalization of professional services: Implications for accounting firms. Restructuring the professional organization: Accounting, health care and law 1999, Routledge, London. D.M. Brock, M.J. Powell, C.R. Hinings (Eds.).
4. Aldrich H.E. Beam me up, Scott(ie): Institutional theorists' struggle with the emergent nature of entrepreneurship. Research in sociology of work 2010, Emerald Group, Bingley. W.D. Sine, R.J. David (Eds.).
5. Ang S., Cummings L.L. Strategic response to institutional influences on information systems outsourcing. Organization Science 1997, 8:235-256.
6. Ansari S.M., Fiss P.C., Zajac E.J. Made to fit: How practices vary as they diffuse. Academy of Management Review 2010, 35:67-92.
7. Arnold P.J. Institutional perspectives on the internationalization of accounting. Accounting, organizations & institutions: Essays in honour of Anthony Hopwood 2009, Oxford University Press, Oxford. C.S. Chapman, D.J. Cooper, P.B. Miller (Eds.).
8. Boltanski L., Thévenot L. On justification: The economics of worth 1991, Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ.
9. Botzem S., Quack S. (No) limits to Anglo-American accounting? Reconstructing the history of the International Accounting Standards Committee: A review article. Accounting, Organizations and Society 2009, 34:988-998.
10. Brock D.M. The changing professional organization: A review of competing archetypes. International Journal of Management Review 2006, 8:157-174.
11. Brock D.M., Powell M.J., Hinings C.R. Archetypal change and the professional service firm. Research in organizational change and development 2007, Emerald Group, Bingley. W.A. Pasmore, R.W. Woodman (Eds.).
12. Cohen J. Weighed kappa: Nominal scale agreement with provision for scaled disagreement or partial credit. Psychological Bulleting 1968, 70:213-220.
13. Colyvas J.A., Powell W.W. Roads to institutionalization: The remaking of boundaries between public and private science. Research in Organizational Behavior 2006, 27:315-363.
14. Cooper D.J., Hinings B., Greenwood R., Brown J.L. Sedimentation and transformation in organizational change: The case of Canadian law firms. Organization Studies 1996, 17:623-647.
15. Cooper D., Robson K. Accounting, professions and regulation: Locating the sites of professionalization. Accounting, Organizations & Society 2006, 31:415-444.
16. Corbin J., Strauss A. Basics of qualitative research 2008, Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA. third ed.
17. Covaleski M.A., Dirsmith M.W., Rittenberg L. Jurisdictional disputes over professional work: The institutionalization of global knowledge expert. Accounting, Organizations and Society 2003, 28:323-355.
18. Covalski M., Dirsmith M., Heian J., Samuel S. The calculated and the avowed: Techniques of discipline and struggle over identity in big six public accounting firms. Administrative Science Quarterly 1998, 43:293-327.
19. D'Aunno T., Sutton R.I., Price R.H. Isomorphism and external support in conflicting institutional environments: A study of drug abuse treatment units. Academy of Management Journal 1991, 34:636-661.
20. Dezalay Y. 'Turf battles', or 'class struggles': The internationalization of the market for expertise in the 'professional society'. Accounting, Organizations and Society 1995, 10:149-169.
21. DiMaggio P.J. Culture and cognition. Annual Review of Sociology 1997, 23:263-287.
22. DiMaggio P.J. 'Interest and agency in institutional theory'. Institutional patterns and organizations: Culture and environment 1988, Ballinger, Cambridge, MA. L.G. Zucker (Ed.).
23. Dirsmith M., Covaleski M. Informal communications, nonformal communications and mentoring in public accounting firms. Accounting, Organizations and Society 1985, 10:149-169.
24. Dirsmith M.W., Heian J.B., Covaleski M. Structure and agency in an institutional setting: The application and social transformation of control in the big six. Accounting Organization and Society 1997, 22:1-27.
25. Eisenhardt K.M. Agency theory: An assessment and review. Academy of Management Review 1989, 14:57-74.
26. Financial Times (2012a). Deloitte accused over MG Rover links. http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/d0ae2c10-4ce2-11e1-8741-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1yKyiN2AP.
27. Financial Times (2012b). PwC fined £1.4m for audit failure. http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/b2b4332e-36d7-11e1-b741-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1yKyiN2AP.
28. Fiss P.C., Zajac E.J. The diffusion of ideas over contested terrain: The (non)adoption of a shareholder value orientation among German firms. Administrative Science Quarterly 2004, 49:501-534.
29. Fiss P.C., Zajac E.J. The symbolic management of strategic change: Sensegiving via framing and decoupling. Academy of Management Journal 2006, 49:1173-1193.
30. Freidson E. The changing nature of professional control. American Review of Sociology 1984, 19:1-20.
31. Freidson E. Professionalism: The third logic 2001, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL.
32. Friedland R., Alford R. Bringing society back in: Symbols, practices, and institutional contradictions. The new institutionalism in organizational analysis 1991, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL. W.W. Powell, P.J. DiMaggio (Eds.).
33. Glaser B., Strauss A. The discovery of grounded theory 1967, Aldine, Chicago, IL.
34. Glynn M.A. When cymbals become symbols: Conflict over organizational identity within a symphony orchestra. Organization Science 2000, 11:285-298.
35. Goodrick E., Salancik G.F. Organizational discretion in responding to institutional practices: Hospitals and Cesarean births. Administrative Science Quarterly 1996, 41:1-28.
36. Goodstein J.D. Institutional pressures and strategic responsiveness: Employer involvement in work-family issues. Academy of Management Journal 1994, 37:350-382.
37. Graebner M.E. Caveat Venditor: Trust asymmetries in acquisitions of entrepreneurial firm. Academy of Management Journal 2009, 52:435-472.
38. Granovetter M. Economic action and social structure: The problem of embeddedness. American Journal of Sociology 1985, 91:481-510.
39. Gray J.T. Restructuring law firms: Reflexivity and emerging forms. Restructuring the professional organization: Accounting, health care and law 1999, Routledge, London. D. Brock, M. Powell, C.R. Hinings (Eds.).
40. Greening D.W., Gray B. Testing a model of organizational response to social and political issues. Academy of Management Journal 1994, 37:467-498.
41. Greenwood R., Diaz A.M., Li S.X., Lorente J.C. The multiplicity of institutional logics and the heterogeneity of organizational responses. Organization Science 2009, 21:521-539.
42. Greenwood R. Your ethics. Managing the modern law firm 2007, Oxford University Press, Oxford. L. Empson (Ed.).
43. Greenwood R., Hinings C.R. Understanding strategic change: The contribution of archetypes. Academy of Management Journal 1993, 36:1052-1081.
44. Greenwood R., Hinings C.R. Understanding radical organizational change: Bringing together the old and the new institutionalism. Academy of Management Review 1996, 21:1022-1054.
45. Greenwood R., Hinings C.R., Brown J. "P2-form" strategic management: Corporate practices in professional partnerships. Academy of Management Journal 1990, 33:725-755.
46. Greenwood R., Raynard M., Kodeih F., Micelotta E.R., Lounsbury M. Institutional complexity and organizational responses. Academy of Management Annals 2011, 5:317-371.
47. Greenwood R., Suddaby R. Institutional entrepreneurship in mature fields: The big five accounting firm. Academy of Management Journal 2006, 49:27-48.
48. Greenwood R., Suddaby R., Hinings C.R. Theorizing change: The role of professional associations in the transformation of institutionalized fields. Academy of Management Journal 2002, 45:58-80.
49. Hanlon G. "Casino Capitalism" and the rise of the "commericalised" service class - An examination of the accountant. Critical Perspectives on Accounting 1996, 7:339-363.
50. Hanlon G. A profession in transition? - Lawyers, the market and significant others. The Modern Law Review 1997, 60:798-822.
51. Hardy C., Maguire S. Institutional entrepreneurship. The Sage handbook of organizational institutionalism 2008, Sage, London. R. Greenwood, C. Oliver, K. Sahlin, R. Suddaby (Eds.).
52. Hart C.W.L., Schlesinger L.A., Maher D. Guarantees come to professional service firms. Sloan Management Review 1992, 33:19-29.
53. Haskell T.L. Professionalism versus capitalism: R.H. Tawney, Emile Durkheim, and C.S. Pierce on the disinterestedness of professional communities. The authority of experts 1984, Indiana University Press, Bloomington. T.L. Haskell (Ed.).
54. Hinings C.R., Brown J.L., Greenwood R. Change in an autonomous professional organization. Journal of Management Studies 1991, 28:375-393.
55. Hoffman A.J. Institutional evolution and change: Environmentalism and the U.S. chemical industry. Academy of Management Journal 1999, 42:351-371.
56. ING Economic Bureau (2010). Accountants aan de vooravond van ommekeer.
57. Ingram P., Simons T. Institutional and resource dependence: Determinants of responsiveness to work-family issues. Academy of Management Journal 1995, 38:1466-1482.
58. Jarzabkowski P., Matthiesen J., Van de Ven A.H. Doing which work? A practice approach to institutional pluralism. Institutional work: Actors and agency in institutional studies of organizations 2009, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. T.B. Lawrence, R. Suddaby, B. Leca (Eds.).
59. Jick T.D. Maximizing qualitative and quantitative methods: Triangulation in action. Administrative Science Quarterly 1979, 24:602-611.
60. Kerlinger F.N. Foundations of behavioral research: Educational and psychological inquiry 1986, Holt, Rinehard and Winston, New York, NY.
61. Kornberger M., Carter C., Ross-Smith A. Changing gender domination in a big four accounting firm: Flexibility, performance and client service in practice. Accounting, Organizations and Society 2010, 35:775-791.
62. Kornberger M., Justesen L., Mouritsen J. "When you make manager, we put a big mountain in front of you": An ethnography of managers in a big 4 accounting firm. Accounting, Organizations and Society 2011, 36:514-533.
63. Kumar N., Stern L.W., Anderson J.C. Conducting interorganizational research using key informants. Academy of Management Journal 1993, 36:1633-1651.
64. Larsson M.S. The rise of professionalism: A sociological analysis 1977, University of California Press, Berkeley.
65. Leblebici H., Salancik G.R., Copay A., King T. Institutional change and the transformation of interorganizational fields: An organizational history. Administrative Science Quarterly 1991, 36:333-363.
66. Lee T.W., Mitchell T.R., Sablynski C.J. Qualitative research in organizational and vocational psychology, 1979-1999. Journal of Vocational Behavior 1999, 55:161-187.
67. Lewis L.K., Seibold D.R. Innovation modification during intraorganizational adoption. Academy of Management Journal 1993, 18:322-354.
68. Lorsch J.W., Tierney T.J. Aligning the stars: How to succeed when professionals drive results 2002, Harvard University Press, Boston, Mass.
69. Lounsbury M. Institutional sources of practice variation: Staffing college and university recycling programs. Administrative Science Quarterly 2001, 46:29-56.
70. Lounsbury M. A tale of two cities: Competing logics and practice variation in the professionalizing of mutual funds. Academy of Management Journal 2007, 50:289-307.
71. Lounsbury M. Institutional rationality and practice variation: New directions in the institutional analysis of practice. Accounting, Organizations & Society 2008, 33:349-361.
72. Maguire S. Institutional entrepreneurship. International encyclopedia of organization studies 2007, Sage, London, UK. S. Clegg, J.R. Bailey (Eds.).
73. Malhotra N., Morris T. Heterogeneity in professional service firms. Journal of Management Studies 2009, 46:895-922.
74. Malhotra N., Morris T., Hinings C.R. Variation in organizational form among professional service organizations. Research in the Sociology of Organizations 2006, 24:171-202.
75. Marquis C., Lounsbury M. Vive la resistance: Competing logics and the consolidation of U.S. community banking. Academy of Management Journal 2007, 56:799-820.
76. Meyer A.D. Adapting to environmental jolts. Administrative Science Quarterly 1982, 27:515-537.
77. Miller C.C., Cardinal L.B., Glick W.H. Retrospective reports in organizational research: A reexamination of recent evidence. Academy of Management Journal 1997, 40:189-204.
78. Milliken F.J., Martins L.L., Morgan H. Explaining organizational responsiveness to work-family issues: The role of human resource executives as issue interpreters. Academy of Management Journal 1998, 41:580-592.
79. Morris T., Pinnington A. Promotion to partner in professional service firms. Human Relations 1998, 51:3-24.
80. Morris T., Pinnington A. Continuity and change in professional organizations: Evidence from British law firms. Restructuring the professional organization: Accounting, health care & law 1999, Routledge, London. D.M. Brock, M.J. Powell, C.R. Hinings (Eds.).
81. Nachum L. Winners and losers in professional services: What makes the difference?. Service Industries Journal 1996, 16:474-490.
82. Oliver C. Strategic responses to institutional processes. Academy of Management Review 1991, 16:145-179.
83. Oliver C. Sustainable competitive advantage: Combining institutional and resource-based views. Strategic Management Journal 1997, 18:697-713.
84. Pache A., Santos F. When worlds collide: The internal dynamics of organizational responses to conflicting institutional demands. Academy of Management Review 2010, 35:455-476.
85. Pinnington A., Morris T. Archetype change in professional organizations: Survey evidence from large law firms. British Journal of Management 2003, 14:85-99.
86. Purdy J.M., Gray B. Conflicting logics, mechanisms of diffusion, and multilevel dynamics in emerging institutional fields. Academy of Management Journal 2009, 52:355-380.
87. Puxty A.G., Wilmott H.C., Cooper D.J., Lowe T. Modes of regulation in advanced capitalisms: Locating accountancy in four countries. Accounting, Organizations and Society 1987, 15:315-340.
88. Radnor M., Feller I., Rogers E. The diffusion of innovation: An assessment 1978, Center for the Interdisciplinary study of Science and Technology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL.
89. Ramirez C. Understanding social closure in its cultural context: Accounting practitioners in France (1920-1939). Accounting, Organizations and Society 2001, 26:391-418.
90. Ramirez C. Constructing the governable small practitioner: The changing nature of professional bodies and the management of professional accountants' identities in the UK. Accounting, Organizations and Society 2009, 34:381-408.
91. Rao H., Sivakumar K. Institutional sources of boundary-spanning structures: The establishment of investor relations departments in the Fortune 500 industrials. Organization Science 1999, 10:27-42.
92. Reay T., Hinings C.R. The recomposition of an organizational field: Health care in Alberta. Organization Studies 2005, 26:351-384.
93. Reay T., Hinings C.R. Managing the rivalry of competing institutional logics. Organization Studies 2009, 30:629-652.
94. Reed M. Expert power and control in late modernity: An empirical review and theoretical synthesis. Organization Studies 1996, 17:573-597.
95. Romanelli E., Tushman M.L. Organizational transformations as punctuated equilibrium: An empirical test. Academy of Management Journal 1994, 37:1141-1166.
96. Ruef M., Scott W.R. A multidimensional model of organizational legitimacy: Hospital survival in changing institutional environments. Administrative Science Quarterly 1998, 43:877-904.
97. Samuel S., Covaleski M.A., Dirsmith M.W. On the eclipse of professionalism in Accounting: An essay. Accounting, organizations & institutions: Essays in honour of Anthony Hopwood 2009, Oxford University Press, Oxford. C.S. Chapman, D.J. Cooper, P.B. Miller (Eds.).
98. Schwenk C.R. The use of participant recollection in the modeling of organizational decision processes. Academy of Management Journal 1985, 10:496-503.
99. Scott W.R. Lords of the dance: Professionals as institutional agents. Organization Studies 2008, 29:219-238.
100. Scott W.R., Ruef M., Mendel P., Caronna C.A. Institutional change and organizations: Transformation of a healthcare field 2000, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL.
101. Seidler J. On using informants: A technique for collecting quantitative data and controlling measurement error in organizational analysis. American Sociological Review 1974, 39:816-831.
102. Seo M.G., Creed W.E.D. Institutional contradictions, praxis and institutional change: A dialectical perspective. Academy of Management Review 2002, 27:222-247.
103. Strauss A. Professions, work and careers 1975, Transaction Books, New Brunswick.
104. Suddaby R., Cooper D.J., Greenwood R. Transnational regulation of professional services: Governance dynamics of field level organizational change. Accounting, Organizations and Society 2007, 32:333-362.
105. Suddaby R., Greenwood R. Rhetorical strategies of legitimacy. Administrative Science Quarterly 2005, 50:35-67.
106. Swidler A. Culture in action: Symbols and strategies. American Sociological Review 1986, 51:273-286.
107. Thornton P.H. The rise of the corporation in a craft industry: Conflict and conformity in institutional logics. Academy of Management Journal 2002, 45:81-101.
108. Thornton P.H. Markets from culture: Institutional logics and organizational decisions in higher education publishing 2004, Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA.
109. Thornton P.H., Jones C., Kury K. Institutional logics and institutional change in organizations: Transformation in accounting, architecture and publishing. Research in the sociology of organizations 2005, JAI Press, London. C. Jones, P.H. Thornton (Eds.).
110. Thornton P.H., Ocasio W. Institutional logics and the historical contingency of power in organizations: Executive succession in the higher education publishing industry, 1958-1990. American Journal of Sociology 1999, 105:801-843.
111. Thornton P.H., Ocasio W. Institutional logics. The Sage handbook of organizational institutionalism 2008, Sage, London. R. Greenwood, C. Oliver, K. Sahlin, R. Suddaby (Eds.).
112. Thornton P.H., Ocasio W., Lounsbury M. The institutional logics perspective: A new approach to culture, structure, and process 2012, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
113. Tinker A.M. Paper prophets 1985, Praeger, New York, NY.
114. Townley B. The role of competing rationalities in institutional change. Academy of Management Journal 2002, 45:163-179.
115. Tushman M.L., Romanelli E. Organizational evolution: A metamorphosis model of convergence and reorientation. Research in organizational behavior 1985, JAI Press, Greenwich, CT. L.L. Cummings, B.M. Staw (Eds.).
116. Von Nordenflycht A. What is a professional service firm? Towards a theory and taxonomy of knowledge intensive firms. Academy of Management Review 2010, 35:155-174.
117. Westphal J.D., Gulati R., Shortell S.M. Customization or conformity? An institutional and network perspective on the content and consequences of TQM adoption. Administrative Science Quarterly 1997, 42:366-394.
118. Wyatt, A. (2003). Accounting professionalism: They just don't get it! http://aaahq.org/AM2003/WyattSpeech.pdf.
119. Zilber T. Institutionalization as an interplay between actions, meanings, and actors: The case of a rape crisis center in Israel. Academy of Management Journal 2002, 49:281-303.