EXPANDING THE DIALOGUE: INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION COSTING HISTORIOGRAPHY

What is it about?

This paper is a call for a greater spirit of collaboration amongst accounting historians researching the origins of managerial accounting and its development during the early stages of US and UK industrialization. Philosophical and historical dialogue literature supports the proposition that this communication can additively and synergistically advance our knowledge of these formative times. The historiographic positions and critiques of the three major contending paradigmatic schools (Neoclassical, Foucauldian, and Marxis/labor process) are considered. Significant beginnings leading to the prospect for greater dialogue, harmony and collaborative ef fort are detailed. Power, as one example of a common ground of interest for theorists representing all perspectives, is examined within the context of early industrialization.

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