“Global” management accounting research: some reflections

I start with some examples of global studies that compare and contrast "remedies" to management control and corporate governance issues across borders to expose the common tenet of such studies that "uniformity" of practices or regulations is "counter-productive" given national/cultural variations across countries. However, I critically evaluate this so-called "non-uniformity" prescription by considering the costs of local or situational adaptions. This naturally links with the "homogenizing" effects of globalization, where I ponder whether globalization might actually reduce the power of comparative studies across countries or regions, or whether, regardless, there remains great benefit to be had from studying "local" practices that can be theoretically generalized. I also offer some suggestions to help strengthen the design of comparative studies to try and maximize their (conceptual, if not econometric) power.