Mark Dirsmith - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Mark Dirsmith

Research paper thumbnail of Analysing and interpreting qualitative data in management accounting research

Research paper thumbnail of Social constructionist research in accounting: a reflection on the accounting profession

Research paper thumbnail of The Coupling Relationship between Internal Work Processes and Symbolic Displays within an Institutionalized Organization

Social Science Research Network, Sep 1, 1997

ABSTRACT

Research paper thumbnail of Economie consequences: The relationship between financial reporting and strategic planning, management and operating control decisions

Contemporary Accounting Research, Mar 1, 1987

. It has long been recognized that financial reporting influences the decisions of external parti... more . It has long been recognized that financial reporting influences the decisions of external parties interesting in gauging organizational performance. More recently, it has been argued that it may also influence managerial decisions made within the reporting entity. This article examines the relationship between external financial reporting and three levels of decisions made within organizations: operating control, management control, and strategic planning decisions. A review of the accounting literature dealing with stewardship, accountability and information inductance, and selected studies in organizational theory and sociology leads us to hypothesize that financial reporting exerts its strongest influence on strategic planning across four phases of the decision process. Evidence gathered from a case study mode of analysis that entailed distributing a description of a fictitious electronics company operating in a dynamic and complex industry to corporate managers and independent auditors, supports this primary hypothesis. Various implications for managerial decision making, the promulgation of external financial reporting policies, and further research are examined. Resume. Il est admis depuis longtemps que la publication de l'information financiere influence les decisions des tiers interesses a mesurer la performance d'une organisation. Plus recemment, certains ont affirme qu'elle peut egalement influencer les decisions de gestion prises a l'interieur meme de l'entreprise. Cet article etudie la relation entre la publication de l'information financiere et trois niveaux de decisions de la firme: des decisions de controle d'exploitation, de controle de gestion, et de planification strategique. Un examen de la documentation comptable portant sur l'aspect fiduciaire, sur l'obligation redditionnelle et sur l'information incitative, ainsi que diverses etudes en theorie organisationnelle et en sociologie, nous amenent a poser l'hypothese que la publication de l'information financiere exerce sa plus forte influence sur la planification strategique a travers quatre phases du processus decisionnel. Les informations probantes recueillies au moyen d'une etude de cas qui a necessite la distribution, a des gestionnaires de societes ainsi qu'a des verificateurs, d'une description d'une societe d'electronique fictive œuvrant dans un secteur industriel dynamique et complexe, appuient l'hypothese fondamentale. Sont examinees egalement diverses consequences sur les decisions de gestion, la promulgation de politiques relatives a la publication de l'information financiere et les possibilites de recherche future.

Research paper thumbnail of The Calculated and the Avowed: Techniques of Discipline and Struggles Over Identity in Big Six Public Accounting Firms

Administrative Science Quarterly, Jun 1, 1998

... every year, there's got to be a point when you say, ... more ... every year, there's got to be a point when you say, "Gee, how much more can I do?" One of the major issues that is ... These remarks, by a Big Six public accounting firm practice partner during a resignation interview, a deputy chairman, and a senior manager, describe a conflict in ...

Research paper thumbnail of The Effects of Audit Technology on Auditor Efficiency: Auditing and Timeliness of Client

Research paper thumbnail of The lease-purchase decision

Research paper thumbnail of The socio-political constitution of expert systems and global knowledge expertise within Big 5(4) public accounting firms

International Journal of Technology, Policy and Management, 2005

Research paper thumbnail of Maintaining Accounting as the Paramount Interest in Accounting Research: Re-Examining the Contributions of DR Scott

The Accounting historians journal, Jun 1, 1991

Research paper thumbnail of The effect of external reporting on managerial decision making: Some antecedent conditions

Accounting Organizations and Society, 1982

ABSTRACT Behavioral research in accounting has largely been concerned with examining the effects ... more ABSTRACT Behavioral research in accounting has largely been concerned with examining the effects accounting information has on its recipients. One area which has received little attention despite its potential importance, however, concerns the process by which the behavior of the information sender may be influenced by the act of communicating information to recipients. Within this paper, it is hypothesized that the decision impact of the act of communicating information is conditioned by the extent to which information senders perceive external recipients as relying on financial accounting information and by the cognitive style of the information sender. Results obtained from a questionnaire distributed to corporate managers and to independent auditors provide support for accepting both of these hypotheses. Implications for future research are discussed.

Research paper thumbnail of Discussion of “social environments and organizational accounting”

Accounting Organizations and Society, 1986

Research paper thumbnail of The Coupling of the Symbolic and the Technical in an Institutionalized Context: The Negotiated Order of the GAO's Audit Reporting Process

American Sociological Review, Aug 1, 1999

The relationship between the work an organization actually performs backstage and the image it pr... more The relationship between the work an organization actually performs backstage and the image it presents to external parties has received continuing research attention but is as yet unresolved. Various organizational scholars have held that these two facets of organizations should remain disconnected from one another as they are fundamentally different and any link between them could contaminate one or the other. Other scholars have held that the two facets are indeed connected in a complex interrelationship. We examine this relationship through a qualitative field study of the U.S. General Accounting Office's (GAO) audit reporting process. We find that the GAO's internal work and the image it presents to such parties as the Congress, the press, and the federal agencies it audits are indeed complexly interconnected. We also find that the strength of these connections is influenced by the relative power of the various types of external parties with which the GAO interacts. We conclude by exploring implications for current theory and future research in various types of organizations.

Research paper thumbnail of Early regulatory actions by the SEC: An institutional theory perspective on the dramaturgy of political exchanges

Accounting Organizations and Society, May 1, 1996

Research paper thumbnail of Structure and agency in an institutionalized setting: The application and social transformation of control in the Big Six

Accounting Organizations and Society, 1997

Research paper thumbnail of Budgeting as a means for control and loose coupling

Accounting Organizations and Society, 1983

Research paper thumbnail of Informal communications, nonformal communications and mentoring in public accounting firms

Accounting Organizations and Society, 1985

Research paper thumbnail of Attitudes of selected decision makers towards information provided by the financial accounting system

Xerox University Microfilms eBooks, 1975

Research paper thumbnail of The Linguistic Relativity Hypothesis Applied to Big 5(4) Public Accounting Firms' Assessments of Client Internal Controls

Human Organization, Dec 1, 2007

... gests that audit firm culture significantly impacts all four phases of the audit—planning, in... more ... gests that audit firm culture significantly impacts all four phases of the audit—planning, internal control assessment, evidence gathering and evaluation, and audit reporting (for early formulations of mechanistic and organic concepts see Burns and Stalker 1961; Hickson 1966). ...

Research paper thumbnail of Stained Steel: ESOPs, Meta-Power, and the Ironies of Corporate Democracy

Symbolic Interaction, Aug 1, 2004

Research paper thumbnail of Planning and control in the U.S. Federal Government: A critical analysis of PPB, MBO and ZBB

Strategic Management Journal, Oct 1, 1980

Research paper thumbnail of Analysing and interpreting qualitative data in management accounting research

Research paper thumbnail of Social constructionist research in accounting: a reflection on the accounting profession

Research paper thumbnail of The Coupling Relationship between Internal Work Processes and Symbolic Displays within an Institutionalized Organization

Social Science Research Network, Sep 1, 1997

ABSTRACT

Research paper thumbnail of Economie consequences: The relationship between financial reporting and strategic planning, management and operating control decisions

Contemporary Accounting Research, Mar 1, 1987

. It has long been recognized that financial reporting influences the decisions of external parti... more . It has long been recognized that financial reporting influences the decisions of external parties interesting in gauging organizational performance. More recently, it has been argued that it may also influence managerial decisions made within the reporting entity. This article examines the relationship between external financial reporting and three levels of decisions made within organizations: operating control, management control, and strategic planning decisions. A review of the accounting literature dealing with stewardship, accountability and information inductance, and selected studies in organizational theory and sociology leads us to hypothesize that financial reporting exerts its strongest influence on strategic planning across four phases of the decision process. Evidence gathered from a case study mode of analysis that entailed distributing a description of a fictitious electronics company operating in a dynamic and complex industry to corporate managers and independent auditors, supports this primary hypothesis. Various implications for managerial decision making, the promulgation of external financial reporting policies, and further research are examined. Resume. Il est admis depuis longtemps que la publication de l'information financiere influence les decisions des tiers interesses a mesurer la performance d'une organisation. Plus recemment, certains ont affirme qu'elle peut egalement influencer les decisions de gestion prises a l'interieur meme de l'entreprise. Cet article etudie la relation entre la publication de l'information financiere et trois niveaux de decisions de la firme: des decisions de controle d'exploitation, de controle de gestion, et de planification strategique. Un examen de la documentation comptable portant sur l'aspect fiduciaire, sur l'obligation redditionnelle et sur l'information incitative, ainsi que diverses etudes en theorie organisationnelle et en sociologie, nous amenent a poser l'hypothese que la publication de l'information financiere exerce sa plus forte influence sur la planification strategique a travers quatre phases du processus decisionnel. Les informations probantes recueillies au moyen d'une etude de cas qui a necessite la distribution, a des gestionnaires de societes ainsi qu'a des verificateurs, d'une description d'une societe d'electronique fictive œuvrant dans un secteur industriel dynamique et complexe, appuient l'hypothese fondamentale. Sont examinees egalement diverses consequences sur les decisions de gestion, la promulgation de politiques relatives a la publication de l'information financiere et les possibilites de recherche future.

Research paper thumbnail of The Calculated and the Avowed: Techniques of Discipline and Struggles Over Identity in Big Six Public Accounting Firms

Administrative Science Quarterly, Jun 1, 1998

... every year, there's got to be a point when you say, ... more ... every year, there's got to be a point when you say, "Gee, how much more can I do?" One of the major issues that is ... These remarks, by a Big Six public accounting firm practice partner during a resignation interview, a deputy chairman, and a senior manager, describe a conflict in ...

Research paper thumbnail of The Effects of Audit Technology on Auditor Efficiency: Auditing and Timeliness of Client

Research paper thumbnail of The lease-purchase decision

Research paper thumbnail of The socio-political constitution of expert systems and global knowledge expertise within Big 5(4) public accounting firms

International Journal of Technology, Policy and Management, 2005

Research paper thumbnail of Maintaining Accounting as the Paramount Interest in Accounting Research: Re-Examining the Contributions of DR Scott

The Accounting historians journal, Jun 1, 1991

Research paper thumbnail of The effect of external reporting on managerial decision making: Some antecedent conditions

Accounting Organizations and Society, 1982

ABSTRACT Behavioral research in accounting has largely been concerned with examining the effects ... more ABSTRACT Behavioral research in accounting has largely been concerned with examining the effects accounting information has on its recipients. One area which has received little attention despite its potential importance, however, concerns the process by which the behavior of the information sender may be influenced by the act of communicating information to recipients. Within this paper, it is hypothesized that the decision impact of the act of communicating information is conditioned by the extent to which information senders perceive external recipients as relying on financial accounting information and by the cognitive style of the information sender. Results obtained from a questionnaire distributed to corporate managers and to independent auditors provide support for accepting both of these hypotheses. Implications for future research are discussed.

Research paper thumbnail of Discussion of “social environments and organizational accounting”

Accounting Organizations and Society, 1986

Research paper thumbnail of The Coupling of the Symbolic and the Technical in an Institutionalized Context: The Negotiated Order of the GAO's Audit Reporting Process

American Sociological Review, Aug 1, 1999

The relationship between the work an organization actually performs backstage and the image it pr... more The relationship between the work an organization actually performs backstage and the image it presents to external parties has received continuing research attention but is as yet unresolved. Various organizational scholars have held that these two facets of organizations should remain disconnected from one another as they are fundamentally different and any link between them could contaminate one or the other. Other scholars have held that the two facets are indeed connected in a complex interrelationship. We examine this relationship through a qualitative field study of the U.S. General Accounting Office's (GAO) audit reporting process. We find that the GAO's internal work and the image it presents to such parties as the Congress, the press, and the federal agencies it audits are indeed complexly interconnected. We also find that the strength of these connections is influenced by the relative power of the various types of external parties with which the GAO interacts. We conclude by exploring implications for current theory and future research in various types of organizations.

Research paper thumbnail of Early regulatory actions by the SEC: An institutional theory perspective on the dramaturgy of political exchanges

Accounting Organizations and Society, May 1, 1996

Research paper thumbnail of Structure and agency in an institutionalized setting: The application and social transformation of control in the Big Six

Accounting Organizations and Society, 1997

Research paper thumbnail of Budgeting as a means for control and loose coupling

Accounting Organizations and Society, 1983

Research paper thumbnail of Informal communications, nonformal communications and mentoring in public accounting firms

Accounting Organizations and Society, 1985

Research paper thumbnail of Attitudes of selected decision makers towards information provided by the financial accounting system

Xerox University Microfilms eBooks, 1975

Research paper thumbnail of The Linguistic Relativity Hypothesis Applied to Big 5(4) Public Accounting Firms' Assessments of Client Internal Controls

Human Organization, Dec 1, 2007

... gests that audit firm culture significantly impacts all four phases of the audit—planning, in... more ... gests that audit firm culture significantly impacts all four phases of the audit—planning, internal control assessment, evidence gathering and evaluation, and audit reporting (for early formulations of mechanistic and organic concepts see Burns and Stalker 1961; Hickson 1966). ...

Research paper thumbnail of Stained Steel: ESOPs, Meta-Power, and the Ironies of Corporate Democracy

Symbolic Interaction, Aug 1, 2004

Research paper thumbnail of Planning and control in the U.S. Federal Government: A critical analysis of PPB, MBO and ZBB

Strategic Management Journal, Oct 1, 1980