Accounting in public sector organisations: from (p)re-presentation to performativity

AbstractThe aim of this paper is to theorise about the performativity of accounting. In order to increase the understanding of the contribution of the performativity concept on accounting knowledge, this paper first outlines a... [ view full abstract ]

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to theorise about the performativity of accounting. In order to increase the understanding of the contribution of the performativity concept on accounting knowledge, this paper first outlines a number of different seminal conceptualisations of performativity and provides an understanding of their connectedness. The conceptualisations are those of Austin (1962), Butler (1993), Callon (1998; 2007) and MacKenzie (2006b) respectively. We illustrate the different conceptualisations with the example of a research performance management system at a university. Acknowledging that the notion of performativity might be fruitful in the study of accounting in public sector organisations this paper ends up with new avenues for accounting research.

Keywords: accounting, performativity, re-presentation, public sector organisations