Situational Analysis in Accounting Research: a Postmodern Perspective

Objective: Revise and illustrate the Situational Analysis (SA) method and its theoretical and procedural assumptions to enable novel inductive inquiry in accounting studies. Method: We develop a theoretical essay on SA advances Grounded Theory, addressing the challenges of social life in the postmodern world. The essay focus on how accounting researchers can explore SA in diverse projects, especially those requiring multiple data about a particular phenomenon, allowing researchers to integrate action in different contexts. SA’s analytical stance is structured through maps, embracing the notion of empirical evidence to promote epistemic diversity and multivocality and recognize the importance of non-human elements in structuring social relations. Results: The paper presents an analytical alternative that is not limited to the micro, meso, or macro levels of events. Facing complexities, it provides relational views of ecologies of situations, repositioning research in individual, collective and discursive ways. With SA, a researcher can develop novel inquiry that challenges the status quo and unexplored facets of complex situations. Contributions: The paper explores and illustrates the potential of a qualitative method not yet familiar to accounting researchers, bridging the gap between post-modern perspectives on discourse and investigation of agency on complex phenomena involving accounting concepts and mechanisms.