Critique on the “Manager Effects” Research and Implications for Management Accounting Research

Management accounting researchers have been slow to explore the empirical implications of the “manager effect” on management control choices. We critique the “manager effect” literature and identify research opportunities for management accounting researchers. Since the publication of Bertrand and S...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of management accounting research 2019-03, Vol.31 (1), p.3-40
Main Authors: Abernethy, Margaret A., Wallis, Mark S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accounting
Art exhibits
Clinical outcomes
Management accounting
Musical recordings
Researchers
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Management accounting researchers have been slow to explore the empirical implications of the “manager effect” on management control choices. We critique the “manager effect” literature and identify research opportunities for management accounting researchers. Since the publication of Bertrand and Schoar's (2003) seminal paper, which shows that individual managers have an effect on firm behavior, a large and growing body of accounting and finance research has used publicly available data to identify individual manager effects on a variety of firm outcomes. Management accounting researchers can add significant value to this research; for example, by exploring the control choices that a firm makes to mitigate the adverse consequences associated with some managerial characteristics. In this critique we first identify some of the theoretical and methodological challenges associated with the “manager effects” research and second identify opportunities for management accounting researchers to explore these effects while overcoming some of the limitations.
ISSN:1049-2127
1558-8033
DOI:10.2308/jmar-52030