Management accounting and control systems: A structuration theory analysis.

Abstract This article evaluates the potential of Giddens' structuration theory as a way to extend the theoretical domain of management accounting research into the realm of social theory. The article outlines structuration theory, relates it to management accounting systems, and uses it to interpret two longitudinal empirical studies of management accounting systems-the new financial control system at General Motors during Alfred Sloan's early years as CEO and the weapons repair uniform cost accounting system initiated by Robert McNamara at the Department of Defense. The article concludes that a structuration theory approach sensitizes research and theory building to the rote management accounting systems play in producing and reproducing meaning, power, and morality in organizations, provides a framework for understanding the role these systems can play in organizational change, and offers advantages over "either/or" types of accounting conceptual frameworks.