Public value and public sector accounting research: a structured literature review
Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting & Financial Management
ISSN: 1096-3367
Article publication date: 4 March 2019
Issue publication date: 4 March 2019
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role and impact of accounting within the fragmented field of public value theory literature.
Design/methodology/approach
The work develops a structured literature review (SLR) and seeks to shed light on the state of public value research, with particular emphasis on the role of accounting scholarship.
Findings
The lack of empirical research and the limited number of accounting papers reveal how accounting scholars need to achieve a deeper understanding of the public value conceptualization, creation and measurement process.
Originality/value
The paper develops the first wide-ranging SLR on public value accounting. It is a starting point to develop new research avenues, both in the fields of accountability/external reporting, and management accounting and performance management.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank the two anonymous referees for their insightful comments, which provided an important basis for the improvement of the paper, and the Editor for his support in the development of the work. Previous versions of the paper were presented at the Special Interest Group in Accounting and Accountability panel at the IRSPM2018 conference, University of Edinburgh, and at the International Symposium on Implementing Collaborative Governance, University of Palermo, 2018. The paper is the result of a joint effort of all authors; however, its sections can be attributed as follows: Research method, Public value: the accounting research perspective, and Future research directions: a discussion to Enrico Bracci; Introduction, Defining the analytical framework, and Research focus: What is PV research about? to Luca Papi; Search and sampling strategy, Research field: Identifying the novelty of PV research over time, and Research context: Placing PV research in time and space to Michele Bigoni; Concluding remarks to Enrico Deidda-Gagliardo; Research design: The emergence of theoretical sophistication to Hans-Jürgen Bruns.
Citation
Bracci, E., Papi, L., Bigoni, M., Deidda Gagliardo, E. and Bruns, H.-J. (2019), "Public value and public sector accounting research: a structured literature review", Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting & Financial Management, Vol. 31 No. 1, pp. 103-136. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBAFM-07-2018-0077
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited