A Framework for Classifying and Evaluating the Theoretical Contributions of Case Research in Management Accounting.

General agreement does not exist about what information must be included in a case research paper. There are no established conventions for addressing the basic question, what have we learned about management accounting from this case study? This paper presents a framework that: 1) captures the diversity of research scope covered in management accounting case studies, and 2) provides a straightforward framework for `taking stock" of those aspects of theoretical contribution that researchers have or have not addressed in their research. What we should expect to learn from individual case studies will vary with the theoretical objectives of each study. Thus, the framework presented here uses stage of theory development as the criterion for classifying case studies. Within each stage of theory development, typical objectives and research outputs are identified. The framework is illustrated using eight management accounting case studies. The value and limitations of the framework is discussed.