Date of submission: May 9, 2022; date of acceptance: November 21, 2022 * Contact information: rajibais@juniv.edu, Associate Professor, Department of Ac- counting and Information Systems, Jahangirnagar University, Bangladesh, phone: +880 1778277536; ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6957-5070. Copernican Journal of Finance & Accounting e-ISSN 2300-3065 p-ISSN 2300-12402022, volume 11, issue 4 Rajib, S.U. (2022). Max Weber’s Rationality in Accounting Research. Copernican Journal of Fi- nance & Accounting, 11(4), 165–181. http://dx.doi.org/10.12775/CJFA.2022.024 salah uddin rajib* Jahangirnagar University max Weber’s rationality in accountinG research Keywords: Max Weber, rationality, accounting, social studies, research, review. J E L Classification: A14, B15, M40. Abstract: Max Weber (1864–1920), a German political economist, sociologist and his- torian has been inf luencing the critical accounting research significantly since 20th century. This paper aims to investigate the inf luence of Weber’s ‘rationality’ concept in accounting research through the identification of research platforms, trends and major themes and findings. This study adopts the qualitative research methods. A number of papers from 1984 to 2021 have been analyzed to reach the aim. Call of modernization and human inheritance with tradition force men to act in a rational and calculative way which are the premise of Weber’s rationality. Through the three specific things – cal- culability, methodological behavior and ref lexivity Weber defined rationality and its process in the society. The study finds that Weber’s rationality has been used to under- stand the society and its ref lection in the implementation of accounting mechanisms. Various disciplines of accounting (financial accounting, management accounting and auditing) as well as implementation of various tools of accounting have been investigat- ed under the concept of rationality. Both the public and private enterprises have been investigated under the concept of rationality. It is expected that the study will contrib- ute to understand the application of Weber’s concept in accounting research and poten- tiality as well. http://dx.doi.org/10.12775/CJFA.2022.024 Salah Uddin Rajib166166  Introduction Introduction The corpus of Max Weber embraces the ideas of social action in the birth of modern capitalism. The rationality and the rationalization in the history is the major theme in the Weber corpus (Kalberg, 1980). Weber discussed the ration- ality and rationalization process in references to the Western civilization. He argued that the rationalization process takes place in the non-Western civili- zation as well. However, in the text Collected Essays in the Sociology of Religion, Weber concluded that the rationalization processes for India, China and ancient Middle East are different than the European-American rationalization process. Rationality has been discussed in scattered form in the texts of Max Weber. In a number of texts, Weber conceptualized the concept of rationality through the ideas from the history of the society and religion. Weber noticed the usage of multivocality of his uses of rationality and rationalization as well (Kalberg, 1980). In the empirical analysis, Weber focused on the problem of understanding from the perspective of modern Western civilization. In the text Economy and So- ciety, Weber presented an account of economic activities of institutional struc- ture and the factors that affect the structure. Both descriptively and structurally, Weber presented the various characters of modern capitalism as a needed part of rational capital accounting. He broadened the analysis, including both the struc- tural level (micro) and macro level like culture, surrounding environment of the institutions, tensions and others. Modern organization is seen as a system based on formal rationality with- out connecting any specific substantive ends and outcomes as per Weber. Here, ‘Rationality’ has been criticized by the groups of scholars as well. System based organizational researchers consider organization as a means of production and follow the community demands and social ends ultimately. Therefore, they ar- gue that distinction among the rationalities is not required (e.g., Parsons, 1960). Accounting history has been investigated in alternative ways (Banaszkie- wicz, 2013). Historical evidence shows some critical issues of accounting and identifies accounting as a problematic aspect of social and organizational con- text (Covaleski & Aiken, 1986). Following the approach of Weber, the potenti- ality of Weber’s concept including the rationality in accounting had been dis- cussed earlier (e.g., Colignon & Covaleski, 1991; Dillard., Rigsby & Goodman, 2004). Colignon and Covaleski (1991) argued that the relationship between the max wEBEr’s rationality in aCCounting rEsEarCh 167167 accounting, organization and society can be explained through the three ana- lytical layers based on Weber’s writings. Weber’s framework postulates that ac- counting practices can be considered as analytically rational. However, it is im- portant to understand the substantive rationality of accounting practices and the organizational operation in the socio-historical perspectives. A number of scholars have used the lens of ‘rationality’ to understand the implementation of accounting mechanisms as well. This study is aimed to understand the use of the concept of ‘rationality’ in accounting research. The study is organized as follows: first, the concept of rationality is explored in details. Second, research method is set to achieve the goal. Third, research platforms, the nature and use of rationality are investigated in accounting re- search. And finally, a discussion and conclusions are drawn. Weber’s R ationalityWeber’s R ationality Rationality ConceptsRationality Concepts Several studies have attempted to explore the ‘rationality’ of Weber from vari- ous dimensions (e.g., Swidler, 1973; Kalberg, 1980). Previous studies investi- gated the ‘rationality’ from the work of Weber’s Society and Economy. It is found that Weber used the term ‘rationality’ differently in different contexts (Swidler, 973). Swidler (1973) identifies three concepts from the work of Weber which he identified as rationalism, rationalization and rationality to explain the distinct forms of the concept of rationality. Weber indicated practical rationalism as inherited in primitive, purely magi- cal religions (Swidler, 1973). Therefore, the modern rationality of Weber is dif- ferent from rationalism. Swidler (1973) argued that Weber used rationalization to refer to systematization of ideas. In Weber’s works, rationalization received attention as it is the primary process to give ideas to the capacity to influence so- cial action. When rationalization is a general process of idea development, rationality implies a social action based on particular relationship between ideas and ac- tions. Weber presented rationality as a characteristic of modern capitalism and referred to rationality as a social action. However, this social action is methodo- logical and efficient simultaneously. To understand Weber’s rationality properly, attachment of actors to the actions rather than objective characteristics of ac- Salah Uddin Rajib168168 tion is required (Swidler, 1973). Swidler (1973) viewed the attachment of ac- tors to the action in the four categorized basic groups: 1) Traditional, 2) Affec- tual, 3) Value rational and 4) Instrumentally rational. Similarly, Kalberg (1980) viewed the types of rationality from the work of Weber as: 1) Practical, 2) Theo- retical, 3) Substantive and 4) Formal. Rationality Framework and AccountingRationality Framework and Accounting An increasing number of papers have used the concept of ‘rationality’ of Max Weber in accounting research. Colignon and Covaleski (1991) highlighted the three layers of analysis addressed by Weber to introduce the framework of ac- counting research. At the first layer, the nature and structural conditions have been discussed. To do this, he highlighted two interdependent sectors that are inevitable parts of modern economy. The sectors are: 1) the use of money and 2) market structure and societal institutions’ relationship to the markets. The Money introduces the concept of private property. It works as a medi- um of exchange through its ability of calculability to economic significance. We- ber described the role of money and accounting in the capitalism in his works. He stated that: „Capitalism is present wherever the industrial provision for the needs of a human group is carried out by the method of enterprise, irrespective of what need is involved. More specifically, a rational capitalistic establishment is one with capital accounting, that is, an establishment which determines its in- come yielding power by calculation according to the methods of modern book- keeping and the sticking of a balance” (Weber, 1961, p. 207). Weber argued for the similarities among the ‘capitalism’, the ‘economic enter- prise’ and ‘capital accounting’. A similar rational calculation of economic action is involved in all the terms at different level of activities (Colignon & Covaleski, 1991). Weber argued that modern capitalism influences everyday life and our every- day needs are supplied capitalistically (Weber, 1961). Therefore, Weber argued that the context determines the rationality of calculation of economic action and accounting facilitates this rational calculation. At the second layer, Weber discussed the historical and causal features. At this layer, Weber highlighted the tension of establishing capitalism and the changes of capitalisms. Therefore, this layer is historical and dynamic in nature. Weber at- max wEBEr’s rationality in aCCounting rEsEarCh 169169 tempted to explain the foundations of the society by combining the ideas, inter- pretations, laws and meaning of laws in general in the society. At this layer, Weber’s ‘rationalization’ may be investigated as the contradic- tory relationship of two major forms of economic action: ‘formal rationality’ and ‘substantive rationality’. As it has been mentioned, substantive rationality forms from the values, ends and means of particular social groups as well as institution- al environment of the respective social groups. In contrast, the industrialization with its components such as economic, legal, scientific spheres and the bureau- cratic forms of domination characterizes and determines the boundary of formal rationality (Kalberg, 1980). The richness of the differences between these ration- alities creates the tension of two distinct forms of economic action. Lack of spe- cific focus on a specific institution or social circumstances of previous two layers raises the third layer of analysis. However, the first two layers serve as the base- line for the third layer, i.e., the case of a specific enterprise. Weber explored two axes of tension that combinedly frame the interac- tion of forces, agencies and interests relating to the accounting practices and provides a space for analysis (Colignon & Covaleski, 1991). The first axis pre- sents the tension between the formal and substantive rationality. The second axis presents the organizational domination and existence. These axes develop a framework that presents accounting procedures as formal rationality at the organizational level. Research MethodsResearch Methods In a number of books, Weber discussed the modernization of the society from the traditionizaton. Books like The Protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism (1905), Economy and society: An outline of interpretive sociology (1921), and General Economic History (1923) focus on the process of modernization. From the translated work on Weber (e.g., Weber, 1978; Weber & Kalberg, 2001) and scholarly writings, we have tried to understand the Weber’s corpus. Several steps are followed to select the papers and review the papers. The PRISMA 2020 approach has been adopted to select the articles. Salah Uddin Rajib170170 Figure 1. Process of literature review Figure 1. Process of literature review Source: Page, McKenzie, Bossuyt, Boutron, Hoffmann, Mulrow, Shamseer, Tetzlaff, Akl, Brennan, Chou, Glanville, Grimshaw, Hróbjartsson, Lalu, Li, Loder, Mayo-Wilson, McDonald, McGuinness, Stewart, Thomas, Tricco, Welch, Whiting & Moher, 2021. To search for the articles, a number of keywords have been used. Figure 1 shows the process of review. First, the term ‘Max Weber’ has been used to search in the article in the area of accounting on google scholar. After identifying the major journals, the search engines of journals Identification of studies via databases and registers Records removed before screening: Duplicate records removed (n = 100) Records marked as ineligible primarily (n = 50) Records identified from*: Databases (n = 1) Registers (n = 450) Id en tif ic ati on Records screened (n = 300) Records excluded (n = 147) Reports sought for retrieval (n = 153) Reports not retrieved (n = 3) Sc re en in g Reports assessed for eligibility (n = 25) Reports excluded:2 Reason (n = ‘Rationality’ has not been used as the basic theory) Studies included in review (n = 23) In cl ud ed S o u r c e : Page, McKenzie, Bossuyt, Boutron, Hoffmann, Mulrow, Shamseer, Tetzlaff, Akl, Bren- nan, Chou, Glanville, Grimshaw, Hróbjartsson, Lalu, Li, Loder, Mayo-Wilson, McDonald, McGuin- ness, Stewart, Thomas, Tricco, Welch, Whiting & Moher, 2021. max wEBEr’s rationality in aCCounting rEsEarCh 171171 To search for the articles, a number of keywords have been used. Figure 1 shows the process of review. First, the term ‘Max Weber’ has been used to search the article in the area of accounting on Google Scholar. After identifying the major journals, the search engines of journals have been used to search for the pa- pers. Apart from using the term ‘Max Weber’, Boolean operators ‘AND’ and ‘OR’ have been used. For example; we used ‘Weber’ AND ‘Rationality’ to get our pa- pers. In case of Journal of Business Ethics, the approach of selecting the article is different as the journal publishes multidisciplinary scholarly writings. Max Weber in Accounting ResearchMax Weber in Accounting Research Research PlatformsResearch Platforms Table 1. Use of ‘Max Weber’ in top ranked accounting Journals SL Journal Any place in the article Abstract 1 Accounting, Organization and Society (AOS) 64 9 2 Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal (AAAJ) 40 6 3 Critical Perspectives on Accounting (CPA) 36 5 4 Financial Accountability and Management (FAAM) 8 3 5 Journal of Business Ethics (JBE) 7* 1 Total 155 24 *Related to accounting discipline S o u r c e : author’s own compilation (as of February 2022). Theories of social sciences have been promoted in some top ranked journals of accounting. Table 1 presents the number of articles that refer Max Weber in any place in the articles and abstract in the articles. Salah Uddin Rajib172172 Research OrganizationsResearch Organizations Table 2. Use of ‘rationality’ concept in research organization Organization Number of papers % of papers Private Enterprises Family-owned Business 2 8.70% Corporations 2 8.70% Public Sector* 10 43.48% Not applicable (narrative, descriptive) 9 39.13% Total 23 100.00% *public sector includes state owned enterprises as well as public community S o u r c e : author’s own compilation (as of February 2022). The analysis of the selected papers shows that ‘rationalit y’ concept of Max Weber is used in the public sector mostly. Apart from state owned enter- prises, a number of public communit y’s accounting implementation scenar- ios have been investigated through the theoretical lens of Max Weber. Ra- tionalit y of Max Weber has been used in private enterprises including family business. Research Themes and Findings Research Themes and Findings Table 3 presents the theme and major findings of the selected papers that use the theoretical lens, particularly ‘rationality’ introduced by Max Weber. max wEBEr’s rationality in aCCounting rEsEarCh 173173 T ab le 3 . T he m e an d fi nd in gs in a cc ou nt in g re se ar ch th ro ug h th e co nc ep t o f r at io na lit y SL A ut ho rs Jo ur na l Th em e M et ho ds Fi nd in gs 1 Co va le sk i & A ik en (1 98 6) A O S A cc ou nt in g in th e ac ti vi ti es o f co or di na ti on a nd co nt ro l f ro m a c ri ti ca l pe rs pe ct iv e D es cr ip ti ve Cl as si ca l s oc ia l t he or ie s pr ov id e si gn if ic an t sc op e to a cc ou nt in g to in ve st ig at e it s im pa ct cr it ic al ly . H is to ry s ho w s th at t hr ou gh t he s ci en ti fi c m an ag em en t ph ilo so ph y, a cc ou nt in g pr ov id es s tr uc tu ra l s up po rt s to t he c en tr al iz ed a nd r at io na liz ed e co no m ic p ro du ct io n an d po lit ic al d ec is io n m ak in g. T he re fo re , n ot io n of M ar x an d W eb er c an c on tr ib ut e si gn if ic an - tl y to u nd er st an di ng t he d ev el op m en t o f a cc ou nt in g. 2 Co lig no n & C ov al e- sk i ( 19 91 ) A O S Fr am ew or k on W eb er ia n ap pr oa ch in ac co un ti ng r es ea rc h D es cr ip ti ve Th e re la ti on sh ip b et w ee n th e ac co un ti ng a nd o rg an iz at io n & s oc ie ty c an b e ex pl ai ne d by th e th re e an al yt ic la ye rs d er iv in g fr om W eb er ’s w ri ti ng s – th ro ug h th e di st in ct io n be tw ee n th e fo rm al a nd s ub st an ti ve r at io na lit y. 3 M ill er & N ap ie r (1 99 3) A O S G en ea lo gi es o f Ca lc ul at io n D es cr ip ti ve Th e au th or s hi gh lig ht ed f ou r ge ne al og ie s to d is cu ss t he o ut co m es o f th e hi st or y of c al - cu la ti on . A m on g th e fo ur g en ea lo gi es , co nc er ni ng t he t hi rd o ne , th e au th or s st re ss t he si gn if ic an ce o f pr ac ti ce s an d ra ti on al es t ha t ar is e at d if fe re nt le ve ls o f or ga ni za ti on s an d in he ri te d to c al cu la ti ve p ra ct ic es . A t th is le ve l, th e au th or s di sc us s th e ta sk o f W eb er a nd So m ba rt e xt en si ve ly . 4 Ra dc lif fe (1 99 7) CP A Ra ti on al it ie s of p ub lic se ct or s pe ci al a ud it Ca se S tu dy Th ro ug h a ca se s tu dy , t he a ut ho r sh ow s th at t ho ug h au di to rs w er e ca lle d on b ec au se o f ex pe rt is e an d th ei r e m bo di m en t o f f or m al r at io na lit y, th ey e xe cu te d th e ta sk w it h m an da - te a nd a ut ho ri ty t ha t r ai se d fr om t he s ub st an ti ve r at io na lit ie s of t he p ol it ic al a re na . 5 A rn ol d & O ak es (1 99 8) A O S D is cu rs iv e co ns tr uc ti on of a cc ou nt in g re la te d to re ti re e he al th b en ef it s Ca se S tu dy Th e st ud y sh ow s ho w W es te rn c ap it al is m r ed uc es t he r et ir ee h ea lt h be ne fi ts a nd a cc o- un ti ng f ac ili ta te s th e de ci si on . A lo ng w it h th e Sk oc po l a nd B ur aw oy , t he a ut ho rs u se t he no ti on o f W eb er ’s c al cu la ti ve m ea su re s to e xp la in t he s it ua ti on . 6 Ch ua & P ou lla os (1 99 8) A O S Cr os s bo rd er pr of es si on al iz at io n of ac co un ta nt s Ca se S tu dy Th e au th or s ar gu e th at in te rr el at io ns hi p am on g th e ac co un ta nt s ca n be e xp la in ed b y th e cl as s- st at us -p ar ty m od el o f W eb er . T he a ct iv it ie s of th e ac co un ta nt s ar e de ri ve d by v ar io us dy na m ic d iv is io ns w it hi n th e as so ci at io n, a ct io ns b y th e st at e ag en ci es , p ol it ic al p ow er a nd co m m un al t en si on s. 7 Br ye r (2 00 0a ) A O S So ci al h is to ry o f ac co un ti ng c ha ng es D es cr ip ti ve Th e au th or h ig hl ig ht s th e ch an ge s of a cc ou nt in g re la ti ng t o th e tr an si ti on o f c ap it al is m in En gl an d. T he a ut ho r fo cu se s on t he W eb er ’s n ot io n on c al cu la ti ve m en ta lit ie s to e xp la in M ar x’ s th eo ry o f t ra ns it io n of c ap it al is m r eg ar di ng t he a cc ou nt in g hi st or y. Salah Uddin Rajib174174 SL A ut ho rs Jo ur na l Th em e M et ho ds Fi nd in gs 8 Br ye r (2 00 0b ) A O S So ci al h is to ry o f ac co un ti ng c ha ng es D es cr ip ti ve Th e au th or s ho w s th e re le va nc e of M ar x’ s th eo ry t o ac co un ti ng f ro m t he a cc ou nt in g re - co rd s of a gr ic ul tu ra l, co m m er ci al a nd b ou rg eo is re vo lu ti on s of E ng la nd . T o do th is , W eb er ’s no ti on o f c al cu la ti ve m ea su re s ha s be en u se d. 9 Vo llm er (2 00 3) CP A so ci al s tu di es a nd ca lc ul at iv e pr ac ti ce lit er at ur e de ve lo pm en t by t he a cc ou nt in g sc ho la rs D es cr ip ti ve A ck no w le dg in g W eb er ’s c on tr ib ut io n in c ri ti ca l a cc ou nt in g, t he a ut ho r ar gu es t ha t th e ef - fo rt s of a cc ou nt in g sc ho la rs s ho ul d be r ec og ni ze d in s oc ia l s ci en ce s as w el l. Th e au th or ar gu es t ha t ec on om ic g ov er na nc e as a c en tr al o f ca lc ul at iv e pr ac ti ce t ra ns la te t he s oc ia l or de r. Th er ef or e, t he c al cu la ti ve p ra ct ic e co nt ri bu te s in t he m ai nt en an ce o f so ci al o rd er . H en ce , t he e xp er ie nc e of a cc ou nt in g sc ho la rs s ho ul d ge t at te nt io n in t he s oc io lo gi ca l, po - lit ic al a nd p hi lo so ph ic al t er m s. 10 M cP ha il (2 00 4) CP A re la ti on sh ip b et w ee n re as on a nd e m ot io n in ac co un ti ng e du ca ti on Ca se S tu dy H ig hl ig ht in g W eb er ’s n ot io n on e m ot io n, t he a ut ho r cr it ic al ly a na ly ze s th e co nv en ti on al ap pr oa ch o f d is ti nc ti on b et w ee n em ot io n an d re as on . T he a ut ho r a rg ue s th at th ou gh th er e is a d is ti nc ti on , e m ot io n ca n w or k as a k ey fa ci lit at or in o ur d ec is io n- m ak in g pr oc es s an d it is p os si bl e to id en ti fy t he r ea so n as a fo rm o f e m ot io n. 11 Ja co bs & W al ke r (2 00 4) A A A J A cc ou nt in g an d ac co un ta bi lit y of a n ec um en ic al C hr is ti an gr ou p Ca se S tu dy Re fe rr in g th e w or k of W eb er o n th e re la ti on sh ip b et w ee n pr ot es ta nt is m , c ap it al is m a nd bo ok ke ep in g, t he a ut ho rs a rg ue t ha t ca lc ul at iv e te ch ni qu es a re c om m on in t he in ve st ig a- te d gr ou p. T he a ut ho rs fi nd th e di st in ct io n be tw ee n th e in di vi du al iz in g (f or m al ) a nd s oc ia - liz in g ac co un ta bi lit ie s (v ol un ta ry p ra ct ic es in th e co m m un it y) . I t i s fo un d th at th e vo lu nt ar y na tu re o f t he in ve st ig at ed c om m un it y re si st s th e fo rm al o r in di vi du al iz in g ac co un ta bi lit y. 12 D ill ar d, R ig sb y & G oo dm an (2 00 4) A A A J Ex pa ns io n of in st it ut io na l t he or y ba se d on t he fr am ew or k of M ax W eb er D es cr ip ti ve Th e au th or s in tr od uc e in st it ut io na liz at io n pr oc es s by W eb er ’s n ot io ns p er ta in in g to s oc ia l co nt ex t an d G id di n’ s st ru ct ur at io n th eo ry p er ta in in g to t he d yn am ic s of s oc ia l s ys te m s. Th ey a rg ue t ha t th e us e of in st it ut io na l t he or y is li m it ed in a cc ou nt in g re se ar ch w hi ch f a- ile d to r ef le ct t he s oc ia l c on te xt a nd s oc ia l d yn am ic s. T he a ut ho rs c on cl ud ed t ha t us e of so ci al th eo ri es li ke ‘R at io na lit y’ a nd ‘P ow er ’ o f M ax W eb er o r ‘ St ru ct ur at io n’ o f G id di ns c an ex pa nd t he in st it ut io na l t he or y to u nd er st an d th e in st it ut io na liz at io n pr oc es s. 13 Ca ra m an is (2 00 5) A O S Tr an sf or m at io n in t he ac co un ti ng p ro fe ss io n Ca se S tu dy Th e au th or in ve st ig at es th e in tr a- pr of es si on al c on fl ic ts b et w ee n G re ek a ud it or s an d br an - ch es o f in te rn at io na l ac co un ti ng f ir m s w he re i nd ig en ou s au di to rs w er e tr yi ng t o re ga in th ei r po si ti on a nd s ta tu s. T hr ou gh t he W eb er ’s r at io na liz at io n pr oc es s, t he a ut ho r ar gu es th at t he a tt em pt o f in di ge no us a ud it or f ai le d be ca us e of t he a dv an ce m en t of t he s oc io - -p ol it ic al c lim at e. T ab le 3 . T he m e… max wEBEr’s rationality in aCCounting rEsEarCh 175175 SL A ut ho rs Jo ur na l Th em e M et ho ds Fi nd in gs 14 Ch ia pe llo (2 00 7) CP A U nd er st an di ng t he b ir th of c ap it al is m a lo ng w it h th e ac co un ti ng D es cr ip ti ve W it ho ut d en yi ng t he n ot io n of W eb er t ha t ex is te nc e of a cc ou nt in g fa ci lit at es c ap it al is m , th e au th or a rg ue s th at t he c on ce pt o f a cc ou nt in g he lp s th e sc ho la rs o f s oc io lo gy a nd e co - no m ic s to u nd er st an d th ei r ow n di sc ip lin e as w el l. 15 U dd in & C ho ud hu - ry (2 00 8) A A A J Co rp or at e go ve rn an ce pr ac ti ce s Ca se S tu dy Th e st ud y sh ow s th at t he r at io na l f ra m ew or k of c or po ra te g ov er na nc e m ay b e in te rf er ed by t he t ra di ti on o f a t ra di ti on al s oc ie ty li ke B an gl ad es h. B oa rd s of D ir ec to rs m ay s er ve t he in te re st o f f am ili es r at he r th an g en er al s ha re ho ld er s. 16 U dd in (2 00 9) CP A Ra ti on al it ie s, do m in at io n an d ac co un ti ng c on tr ol . Ca se S tu dy In a t ra di ti on al s oc ie ty , i nf or m al r el at io ns hi p an d fa m ily a ff ai r do m in at es t he o rg an iz at io n st ru ct ur e, a cc ou nt in g an d bu dg et in g pr oc es s. T he re fo re , W eb er ’s ra ti on al it ie s (s ub st an ti ve al on g w it h fo rm al ) c an e xp la in t he s ce na ri o of a n or ga ni za ti on d oi ng b us in es s in a t ra di ti o- na l s oc ie ty . 17 Ku as ir ik un & C on - st ab le (2 01 0) A O S So ci o- re lig io us , ec on om ic a nd po lit ic al in fl ue nc e in th e de ve lo pm en t o f ac co un ti ng . Ca se S tu dy Re fe rr in g th e w or k of M ar x, W eb er a nd o th er s oc io lo gi st s an d th e re la ti on sh ip b et w ee n re - lig io n an d ac co un ti ng (e sp ec ia lly fr om W eb er ), th e au th or s ar gu e th at th e in te rr el at io ns hi p of r el ig io n, p ol it ic s an d ec on om ic s de te rm in e th e ac co un ti ng p ra ct ic e ra th er t ha n re lig io n in T ha ila nd . 18 Ro be rt so n & Fu nn el l ( 20 12 ) A O S H is to ri ca l m ot iv es o f ac co un ti ng D es cr ip ti ve D ra w in g th e re la ti on sh ip b et w ee n ca pi ta lis m a nd b oo kk ee pi ng i nt ro du ce d by S om be rt an d W eb er , t he a ut ho rs a rg ue t ha t D ut ch s oc ia l c ap it al is d if fe re nt t ha n w ha t So m be r an d W eb er h av e m en ti on ed a bo ut W es te rn c ap it al is m . Th ey a rg ue d th at D ut ch c ap it al is m is es ta bl is he d on s oc ia l i ns ti tu ti on s an d th e lo ng e xp er ie nc e of t ho se in st it ut io ns . 19 U dd in e t a l. (2 01 8) JB E Co rp or at e so ci al re sp on si bi lit y di sc lo su re s Ca se S tu dy Th e au th or s at te m pt ed to fi nd th e dr iv er s of C SR re po rt in g fr om th e pe rs pe ct iv e of W eb er ’s no ti on o f tr ad it io na lis m . T he s tu dy f in ds t ha t po w er fu l l ea de rs ’ p er so na l p ro je ct s an d th e ru lin g pa rt y’ s ag en da s de ri ve fr om th e CS R ac ti vi ti es in a tr ad it io na l s et ti ng . 20 Ja ya si ng he e t a l. (2 02 0) A A A J Pa rt ic ip at or y bu dg et in g in in di ge no us co m m un it ie s Ca se S tu dy Th e au th or s in ve st ig at e th e pr ac ti ce s of p ar ti ci pa to ry b ud ge ti ng in t w o In do ne si an in di - ge no us c om m un it ie s w he re d on or ’s s po ns or ed n eo -l ib er al m od el w hi ch c an b e id en ti fi ed w it h th e fo rm al r at io na lit y is a pp ro ac hi ng . Th e au th or s fi nd t ha t do no r sp on so re d ne o- -l ib er al m od el is d om in at ed b y lo ca l t ra di ti on al p ra ct ic es , e .g ., va lu es , w is do m a nd o th er s. T ab le 3 . T he m e… Salah Uddin Rajib176176 SL A ut ho rs Jo ur na l Th em e M et ho ds Fi nd in gs 21 A gy em an g et a l. (2 02 0) A A A J D ec is io n m ak in g in a q ua si -f or m al or ga ni za ti on Ca se S tu dy Th e st ud y fi nd s th at in a t ra di ti on al s et ti ng in he ri ta nc e, c hi ef ta in cy , t ru st a nd n or m s pl ay th e m ai n ro le o ve r th e fo rm al h ie ra rc hi ca l o rg an iz at io na l s tr uc tu re s, b ud ge ti ng p ra ct ic es , pr od uc ti on p la nn in g an d la bo r co nt ro ls . 22 Ph ir i ( 20 20 ) FA A M Co rr up ti on a nd ac co un ta bi lit y Ca se S tu dy Th e st ud y fi nd s th at in st it ut io na l s tr uc tu re s re la te d to a cc ou nt in g an d ac co un ta bi lit y re - m ai n pa tr im on ia l i n th e in ve st ig at ed c ou nt ry . P ol it ic al a ff in it io n, n ep ot is m a nd f av or it is m m an ip ul at e th e in st it ut io na l s tr uc tu re s an d in du ce t he c or ru pt io n. T hi s in st it ut io na l s tr uc - tu re le ad s to s el ec ti ve a cc ou nt in g pr ac ti ce s. 23 D e La ut ou r, H oq ue & W ic kr am as in gh e (2 02 1) A A A J Re sp on se o f e th ni c pe op le t o th e ex te rn al ac co un ta bi lit y de m an ds Ca se S tu dy A cc ou nt ab ili ty a pp ea ra nc e (e ti c) a nd in te ri or iz at io n (e m ic ) t o an e th ni c gr ou p ar e th e pr e- m is es o f t he s tu dy . T he s tu dy fi nd s th at a n et ic -e m ic m is un de rs ta nd in g on b ot h si de s (e th - ni c gr ou p an d ex te rn al ) o cc ur s at t he t im e of p ra ct ic in g in a fo rm al a cc ou nt ab ili ty s ys te m . S o u rc e : a ut ho r’ s ow n co m pi la ti on ( as o f F eb ru ar y 20 22 ). T ab le 3 . T he m e… max wEBEr’s rationality in aCCounting rEsEarCh 177177 Discussion Discussion Weber’s corpus offers multiple levels of analysis. It spreads from micro level so- cial actions analysis to macro level social actions including social and historical dimensions (Colignon & Covaleski, 1991). Our selected papers show that multi- level analysis is adopted in the accounting research as well. Dominations’ variation and the resistance among the social groups are vali- dated in Weber’s framework and provide scopes for investigating the organiza- tional rationalizations. Scholars introduce the Weber’s framework in organiza- tional analysis through the focus on the tension among substantive rationalities (e.g., Clegg & Dunkerley, 1980). They argued that the tension among the substan- tive rationalities helps to analyze the rational calculation of domination and re- sistance to control in an organization. The framework of Weber indicates that practices of accounting work as a mechanism of domination, constraint and control in institutions. However, the domination of accounting is incomplete. Through the analysis this study finds that various accounting tools and practices mediate the tension between domination and resistances. Ultimately, the calcu- lative decision applies to tensions, struggles and conflicts among various groups with various substantive rationalities. Various accounting tools and procedures work as the object of tension among groups, favor various interpretations and in- terests in an institution. Table 3 presents that though at the beginning of accepting the Weber’s work in the accounting research platforms descriptive researches has been promoted to understand the potentiality, case study research has been undertaken more with time. Tensions among the groups are evident regarding the implementa- tion of accounting tools that can be explained through the distinction between the formal and substantive rationalities. The area of financial accounting, man- agement accounting and auditing has been investigated through the concept of ‘rationality’ of Weber. Alternative opinion to Weber is found in searching the history of accounting practices as well. Kuasirikun and Constable (2010) mention that accounting in mid-19th-century was influenced by the interaction of religion, politics and eco- nomics rather than religion solely. Analyzing the historical data of Dutch East-In- dia Company, Robertson and Funnell (2012) argue that capitalism of the Neth- erlands has been influenced by the long experience of social institutions rather than the notion of accounting. Salah Uddin Rajib178178 Apart from the rationality, the rationalization process, i.e., the anticipated mechanisms of rationality have been used in accounting research. Religion and accounting (e.g., Koleva, 2021; Cai, Li & Tang, 2020; Leventis, Dedoulis & Abdel- salam, 2018), ideal type society and accounting and accountability (Breton-Mill- er & Miller, 2020; Waldkirch, Meyer & Homann, 2009) have been the focal points under the concept introduced by Weber. Scholars argue that the rationalization process and the rationality have raised the issues of importance of accounting as well. Chiapello (2007) argued that though Weber has mentioned the role of accounting cautiously, the influence of accounting in the discipline of sociology is undermined. Referring the work of Karl Marx, Chiapello (2007) argued that the concepts of accounting have contrib- uted in the area of sociology and economics to understand the disciplines prop- erly as well.  Conclusions  Conclusions Weber focused on the ideas of sociology in the development of Western capital- ism. The nature of modern enterprises is characterized in this aspect as well. To understand the Weber’s notion of ‘rationality’, this study depends on sev- eral translated works of Weber. We acknowledge the limitation of our under- standing of the Weber corpus. From the analysis of this study, it is obvious that the notion of Weber, particularly of rationality, can help understand the imple- mentation scenario of accounting tools in the society. Almost all the branch- es of accounting have experienced the notion of rationality to understand the implementation scenario in the society. The fact is that as a branch of social science, accounting can hardly avoid the Weber corpus in implementation as- pects. Hence, it can be said that Weber’s rationality has a potentiality in future research of accounting as well. It is accepted that the concept of rationality has not been used in a global manner to unfold the civilization. The realms of econ- omy, law, politics, religion, ethics and others advance the rationalization pro- cess in the indigenous rates at different socio-cultural level to form the ration- ality. Therefore, future research including accounting will advent from Weber. max wEBEr’s rationality in aCCounting rEsEarCh 179179  References  References Agyemang, J., Jayasinghe, K., Adhikari, P., Tunyi, A., & Carmel, S. (2020). Calculative measures of organising and decision-making in developing countries: the case of a quasi-formal organisation in Ghana. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 34(2), 421–450. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/AAAJ-03-2019-3911. 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