Research Details

Abstract

This paper examines the role of accounting in facilitating and legitimating the conglomerate movement in American business during the 1960s. We argue that the profileration of conglomerate mergers contributed to a reconceptualization of the corporation that emphasized its financial rather than its productive capacities. This conception of the firm has now been institutionalized; its logic motivates the takeovers and restructuring that characterize contemporary business. Our case illustrates the rhetorical power of accounting as a symbolic system for legitimating new corporate forms and practices.

Type

Article

Author(s)

Paul Hirsch

Date Published

1990

Citations

Hirsch, Paul. 1990. Ownership Changes, Accounting Practice, and the Redefinition of the Corporation. Accounting, Organizations and Society.(1): 77-96.