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Lecture notes Topics in Business Economics
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Samenvatting Topics in Business EconomicsTopic 0
Academic writing (Bem, pp. 173, 175; Webster & Watson, pp. xv-xviii)
Before writing - - >
Four W’s (Webster & Watson):
What’s new (how does this paper contribute to the literature)?
So what (what is the impact and importance of the contribution)?
Why so (what logic is behind the contribution)?
Well done (how thorough is the contribution)?
Writing: organization - - >
Clear organization and development of arguments on the basis of:
one theory or conceptual model
competing theories or assumptions (e.g., Roslender& Dillard, Morgan; Topic 1)
point of view (novel or controversial conclusion)
Discuss the literature on the basis of concepts, not authors:
use the concept matrix to create an overview
discuss the literature constructively, no ad hominem arguments. Dus val de auteur niet aan,
maar de literatuur.
discuss patterns in the literature, not specific articles
Writing structure - - >
- Clear text structuration (sections and paragraphs).
- Use subtitles and headings when necessary
- Paragraphs are basic text units:
o key sentences at the beginning
o all key sentences = abstract of the paper!
- Introduction is the basis of the paper:
o begin with general and broad statements, then narrow down progressively to the
specifics of your paper (‘hourglass’ form)
o do not plunge unprepared readers into your arguments, take some time and space to
introduce them step by step (no ‘DIH’)
o provide the take home message in the introduction
Writing style - - >
- Omit needless words
o Strive for accuracy and clarity.
o Discuss something at one point in the paper and then not again: put together what
belongs together
o Avoid ‘mindless’ repetition of terms: explain something correctly and completely once,
then do not repeat that in slightly different words (1x, 2x, 3x,….)
o So do not use: ‘’as mentioned before’’
- Avoid metacomments
o Outline the structure of your argument once, then not again
o So do not say: ‘’’now we are going to discuss the results…’’
o The reader should be able to follow the line of your argumentation without ‘sign posts’
, - Use repetition and parallel construction
o Use repetitive ways of summing up or making distinctions
o Be boring, not creative:
o In the first place…
o In the second place…
o In the third place…
o Use parallel construction to make comparisons of concepts or situations:
o use similar sentences, but vary the key words of comparison
- Write in plain language = basic
o Write in plain English or Dutch
o Do not use unnecessary jargon or flowery prose
o Be boring, but also be comprehensible!
o Write in complete sentences: no ‘telegram style’
o Beware of literal translations of English texts (‘Google Translate Syndrome’): it is sloppy
language as well as plagiarism!
- Use ‘I’ and ‘we’ sparingly
o Use a mix of ‘I’ or ‘we’ and more passive forms.
o In this paper it is argued
o Never use ‘we’ as single author (only His Majesty….)
o ‘Your’ view or opinion is already visible in the fact that it is ‘your’ text
o Scientific texts are not editorials or opinion pieces in the newspaper
- Avoid language bias
o Use ‘(s)he’ and ‘him/her’, ‘they’ and ‘them’, instead of ‘he’ and ‘his’ when referring to
humans in general
o In Dutch: use the ‘geslacht’ of words:
o de organisatie… haar werknemers
o het bedrijf… zijn directeur
o de onderneming… haar winst
1 opdracht in tentamen gaat over deze 6 stappen!! Zie voorbeeld in powerpoint
Rewriting - - >
Rewriting is difficult and tedious:
- blind spot for your own work (tip: give it to a friend or relative for a critical reading)
- requires high and compulsive attention to details (tip: first write a rough draft, then polish
and edit afterwards)
- requires restructuring and discarding favourite phrases and sections (tip: first put the
favourite phrase in a footnote, then delete the footnote later on)
A beautiful lay-out does not automatically produce a good paper!
,Topic 1: Alternative perspectives in business economics research
Accounting +
- Taking different perspectives
- Accounting research is often based on (neo-classical) economic theoretical perspectives, but
it does not need to be so… first paper
- Accounting research is often performed on the basis of quantitative methods, but it does not
need to be so… second paper
- Theoretical perspectives and research methods often correlate, but they do not need to do
so… third paper
Organizational views of transfer pricing (Swieringa & Waterhouse) - - >
Mainstream perspective: rational actor
Organizational perspective: behavioural model – garbage can model – organizing model – transaction
costs model
Why multiple perspectives?
- Solving complex problems requires taking different perspectives
- Learning to think out-of-the-box and out-of-the-text books, in order to be creative, novel and
independent
- ‘’The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the
same time, and still retain the ability to function’’ (F. Scott Fitzgerald)
Alternative perspectives in business economic research - - >
Roslender & Dillard (2003)
- Accounting research is basically interdisciplinary (just like research in business
administration)
- But in practice the mainstream of accounting research is predominantly economic in nature
- Basic tenets of this ‘mainstream’ perspective:
o Reality is objective, knowable and measurable
o Assumptions of purposive behaviour and utility maximization
o Social order is stable and controllable, conflict is dysfunctional/not rational
o Ends are given, accounting specifies most effective and efficient means
o Acceptance existing social and organizational order (‘neutral’ ‘value free’ do not
question the existing social order)
- Interdisciplinary perspectives on accounting (IPA = accounting +): ‘everything else’ than
mainstream economics
o Functionalist (or positivist) perspectives -= mainstream
psychology (behavioural accounting: Anthony, Otley; Argyris, T3)
sociology (contingency theory: Adler & Borys, Merchant; Hofstede, T6)
Basic tenets of the functionalist perspective, because: sociology and psychology
o reality is objective, knowable and measurable
o social order is stable and controllable
o acceptance of existing social and organizational order.
, Basic tenets of the post-functionalist perspectives, both from sociology:
= Interpretive accounting (Ahrens & Chapman, Jordan & Messner; T2 & 11):
o reality is socially constructed on the basis of continuous inter-subjective sensemaking
o behaviour is intentional and future oriented
o social order is objectified and changed through social human interaction and
sensemaking, but still accepted
Basic tenets of the critical accounting perspective (Sikka & Willmott; Chwastiak, T6; T12):
o humans have inner potentialities for self-actualization and emancipation, restricted
by societal inequality and structures of economic domination (capital vs. labor)
o critical against existing social and organizational order, no ‘neutral’ or ‘value free’
stance, actively engaged
De Villiers et al. (2019)
- Quantitative methods mostly used for functionalist perspectives:
o distinction empirical observations and theoretical constructs
o theory leads to hypotheses, falsified or verified on the basis of empirical tests
o search for causal relationships and universal scientific ‘laws’
- Qualitative methods mostly used for post-functionalist perspectives:
o understanding (‘Verstehen’) of socially constructed reality
o theoretical model is tentative, refined in interplay with empirical research findings
o grounded in subjective interpretations and common sense agreement between
researchers and subjects on outcomes
- Qualitative research is not deficient because of:
o insufficient sample size
o no p-value reported
o no validity and reliability checks
o just telling a story
o It is a different research method for different theoretical purposes
- Characteristics of good quality quantitative and qualitative papers are comparable:
boomstructuur
Richardson (2015)
- Critical accounting:
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