The results of a longitudinal field study (1967‐89) of
International Foods, a holding corporation for a group of companies in
Pakistan is presented. It focuses on the influence of societal culture
on the development of accounting and control practices in the
organisation. Four specific issues are examined: How do organisations
initiate accounting and control systems? How do such systems evolve?
What roles do they play in a crisis? How does organisational action
become disconnected from such systems? National culture, particularly as
it shapes the world views of individuals, greatly enhances our
understanding of the dynamics of accounting and control systems in
organisations. The local nature of rationality is demonstrated by
showing how contextualising practices allow us to make sense of them.
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