Reviewing Interorganizational Management Accounting and Control Literature: A New Look

Abstract

Interorganizational management accounting and control is a complex and fascinating area of research. Many contributions have already been published on this topic, and some assessments have been produced in previous surveys. The objective of this paper is to analyze whether more recent contributions have deepened the understanding of management accounting and control problems and solutions, while also broadening the spectrum of enquiry. A citation analysis through social network analysis (SNA) suggests the need for research leveraged on commonalities to consolidate existing knowledge on the field. In-depth analysis of the contributions shows some progress in highlighting the complexity and evolution of interorganizational control practices, and in responding to some of the existing limitations. However, there is still a lot to do to in terms of investigating areas neglected to date and exploiting opportunities for interdisciplinary research and theory contamination, which may lead to innovation and growing diversity in this field.