An analysis of publishing patterns in accounting history research in Italy, 1990-2004.(Report)

Abstract: In the last decade, an increasing number of analyses of accounting history literature have been undertaken to classify historical research paths and to "map" the variety of approaches and issues of the discipline in different geographical settings so as to make international comparisons. The paper develops these topics in the Italian context by studying the development of accounting history research (AHR) in the last 15 years. Contributions by Italian authors have been published in international and national specialist journals as well as in more general accounting journals. Other papers have been presented and published in the proceedings of the biannual SISR (Societa Italiana di Storia della Ragioneria) Congress and in the Congress celebrating the 500th anniversary of the publication of Pacioli's Summa held in Venice in 1994. The findings chart publication trends during the period 1990-2004 from a quantitative and qualitative perspective, based on different dimensions, the dynamic of change in Italian AHR, and its possible limitations. The paper is informed by an international perspective and causal interpretations are attempted.

INTRODUCTION

Since the 1990s, many scholars of accounting history have extended the research work, the cultural and philosophical frameworks, and the parameters of publication in many different respects (journals, authorship, etc.). A reflection on the way such research work is developing is useful not only to rearrange the fruits of the increasing production on the subject according to historiographic genres but for other purposes which share the same sensitivity regarding trends and opportunities for fruitful developments in the area of historical business studies [Walker, 2005].

Some years ago, this focus began to appear in international journals of accounting history, with reference to the trends and character of publications collected over time, for spatial and temporal comparisons. Consistent with such research works, this paper will go into the details of some features of the Italian accounting history studies carried out in the last 15 years, based on a significant although incomplete database of publications. Similarly to what has already been done internationally, the goal is to provide a reference framework from a time-related perspective and to make a few comments on some significant aspects brought to light by the survey, such as the subject, the time-related focuses, and the methods for the conduct of such research investigations.

The first section of the paper is a study of the main international research that has been conducted and the results of these studies. It presents the research model used for studying Italian publications and the boundaries of such study--the spatial boundaries (the reviewed papers of research into accounting history), the time boundaries (the reviewed time span), and the selected dimension of the study. This will be followed by a description of the main subjects that have been addressed by each category. Subsequently, the main results will be shown with a final discussion of their possible interpretations.

RESEARCH "INTO" ACCOUNTING HISTORY SINCE THE '90s: AN INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE

A recent article by Fleischman and Radcliffe (F&R) [2005] outlining the developments of accounting history literature during the '90s identified this decade in accounting history as "the roaring '90s" for the growth of new research opportunities that emerged at the end of the last century. The production of papers in accounting history research (AHR) has not just increased in quantity but also, and above all, in quality. Some research works have highlighted the process of change and differentiation of the historiographic approach ("traditional" vs. "critical") and research paradigms ("Neoclassical," "Foucauldian," and "Marxist") within which the Anglo-Saxon production of accounting history has found some place since the '90s, thereby opening new space for the interpretation of the role of such studies and the possible scope of their developments [Parker, 1997; F&R, 2005]. The spread of the perspective of a "new" accounting history, breaking from the traditional evolutionary approach which reads the past in light of the present, looks for deep interactions with space and time in which accounting develops, and, above all, recognizes the ability of accounting to transform social relations [Miller et al., 1991; Miller and Napier, 1993].