Accounting,

Organizations
and Society

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: ANTHONY G. HOPWOOD

VOLUME 3 1978

PergamonPress - Oxford - New Yorli- Fran@rt

 Accounting,Organizationsand Society
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Anthony G. Hopwood: London Graduate School of Business Studies, Sussex Place, Regent’s Park,
London NW1 4SA

BIBLIOSCENE EDITOR
Jacob G. Birnberg: Graduate School of Business, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, U.S.A.

EDITORIAL BOARD

Shahid L. Ansari Meinolf Dierkes Edward E. Lawler III Herbert G. Schmidt

Graduate School of Management International Institute for for Social Research
Institute Federal Ministry for Labour and
University of California Environment and Society University of Michigan Social Affairs
Los Angeles West Berlin Bonn and
Charles Medawr University for Education
Chris Argyris Eric G. Flamholtz Public Interest Research Centrc Rhineland
Graduate School of Education Graduate School of Management London
Harvard University University of California, Robert J. Swieringa
Los Angeles Theodore J. Mock Graduate School of Business and
Robert H. Ashton Graduate School of Public Administration
Peat, Marwick, L Richard Hoffman Business Administration Cornell University
Mitchell & Co Graduate School of Business University of Southern California
New York University of Chicago Naomi Tsumagari
Louis R. Pondy Faculty of Economics
Edwin H. Caplan Geert H. Hofstede College of Commerce & University of Tokyo
Robert 0. Anderson School of European Institute for Advanced Business Administration
Business and Administrative Studies in Management University of Illinois David J. H. Watson
Sciences Department of Commcrcc
University of New Mexico Robin Hogarth John Grant Rhode University of Queensland
Graduate School of Business Mclaren College of
David C. Cooper Umversity of Chicago Business Administration Aaron Wildavsky
Faculty of Commerce University of San Francisco Survev Research Center
University of British Columbia and Robert E. Jensen University of California
University of Manchester College of Business Joshua Ronen Berkeley
Florida State University Vincent C. Ross Institute of
Jerry Darner Acounting Research
l-acuity of Management Studies Sten Josson College of Business and Public
University of Toronto Department of Business Administration
Administration New York University
Gothenburg University

Publishing, Subscription and Advertising Offices: Pergamon Press Ltd., Headington Hill Hall, Oxford OX3 OBW
(Oxford 64881; Telex 83177).
Annual Subscription Rates 1980
For libraries, university departments, government laboratories, industrial and other multiple-reader institutions: U.S. $95
per annum (including postage and insurance). All subscription enquiries should be addressed to: The Subscription
Fulfillment Manager, Pergamon Press Ltd., Headington Hill Hall, Oxford OX3 OBW, England.
Specially Reduced Rates for Individuals. In the interests of maximizing the dissemination of the researeh results published
in this important international journal, we have established a two-tier price structure. Any individual, whose institution
takes out a library subscription, may purchase a second or additional subscriptions for personal use at the much reduced
rate of U.S. $30.00 per annum.
Microform Subscriptions and Back Issues: Back issues of all previously published volumes are available in the regular
editions and on microfilm and microfiche. Current subscriptions are available on microfiche simultaneously with the paper
edition and on microfilm on completion of the annual index at the end of the subscription year.
Published Quarterly
Copyright 0 1980 Pergamon Press Ltd.
It is a condition of publication that manuscripts submitted to this journal have not been published and will not be simultaneously submitted or published elsewhere.
By submitting a manuscript, the authors agree that the copyright for their article is transferred to the publisher if and when the article is accepted for publication.
However, assignment of copyright is not requbcd from authors who work for organisations which do not permit such assignment. The copyright covers the ex-
elusive rights to reproduce and distribute the article, including reprints, photographic reproductions, microform of any other reproductions of similar nature and
translations. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, electrostatic,
magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without permission in writing from the copyright holder.
US Copyright Law Applicable to Users in the USA
The Article Fee Code an the fist page of an article in this journal indicates the copyright owner’s consent that, in the USA, copies may be made for personal or
internal use provided the stated fee for copying, beyond that permitted by Section 107 or 108 of the United States Copyright Law, is paid. The appropriate re-
mittance should be forwarded with a copy of the fust page of the article to the Copyright Clearance Center Inc, PO Box 765, Schenectady, NY 12301. If a code
does not appear copies of the article may be made without charge, provided permission is obtained from the publisher. The copyright owner’s consent does not
extend to copying for general distribution, far promotion, for creating new works or for resale. Specific written permission must lx obtained from the publisher
for such copying.
In case of doubt please contact ywr nearest Pergamon office.

PERGAMON PRESS
Headington Hill Hall, Maxwell House, Fairview Park,
Oxford OX3 OBW, England Elmsford, New York, 10523, U.S.A.
 LIST OF CONTENTS

Number I
A. G. HOPWOOD 1 Editorial

Studies of the Organizational Aspects of Information and Accounting Systems

A. G. HOPWOOD 3 Towards an organizational perspective for the study of

accounting and information systems

M. L. BARIFF & J. R. GALBRAITH 15 Intraorganizational power considerations for designing

information systems

J. FRISO DEN HERTOG 29 The role of information and control systems in the process of
organizational renewal: roadblock or road bridge?

B. HEDBERG & S. J6NSSON 47 Designing semi-confusing information systems for organiza-

tions in changing environments

J. H. WATERHOUSE & P. TIESSEN 65 A contingency framework for management accounting

systems research

A. WILDAVSKY II Policy analysis is what information systems are not

Report

V. SATHE 89 The relevance of modern organization theory for managerial

accounting

Number 2
A. G. HOPWOOD 93 Editorial

A. BELKAOUI 97 Linguistic relativity in accounting

A. B. CHERNS 105 Alienation and accountancy

E. FLAMHOLTZ & E. COOK 115 Connotative meaning and its role in accounting change: a
field study

J. Y. KAMIN & J. RONEN 141 The smoothing of income numbers: some empirical evidence
on systematic differences among management-controlled and
owner-controlled firms

Action Forum

M. J. EARL 161 Prototype systems for accounting, information and control

Biblioscene

J. G. BIRNBERG 173 Editorial

175 Towards a bibliography of the French social accounting

literature

M. TOKUTANI & M. KAWANO 183 A note on the Japanese social accounting literature
 Number 3/4
A. G. HOPWOOD 189 Editorial

S. L. BUZBY & H. FALK 191 A survey of the interest in social responsibility information
by mutual funds

L. A. GORDON, D. F. LARCKER & 203 Strategic decision processes and the design of accounting
F. D. TUGGLE information systems: conceptual linkages

S. F. JABLONSKY & M. W. DIRSMITH 215 The pattern of PPB rejection: something about organizations,
something about PPB

P. MAITRE 221 The measurement of the creation and distribution of wealth

in a firm by the method of surplus accounts

E. B. SWANSON 231 The two faces of organizational information

Action Forum from Sweden

J. CARLSSON, P. EHN, 249 Planning and control from the perspective of labour: a short
B. ERLANDER, M.-L. PERBY & A. SANDBERG presentation of the DEMOS project

L. C. JONSON, B. JGNSSON & G. SVENSSON 261 The application of social accounting to absenteeism and
personnel turnover
 AUTHOR INDEX

BARIFF,M.L. 1.5 FRISODENHERTOG,J. 29 MAITRE,P. 227

BELKAOULA. 97
BIRNBERG,J.G. 173 GALBRAITH,J.R. 15 PERBY,M.-L. 249
BUZBY,S.L. 191 GORDON,L.A. 203
RONEN,J. 141
CARLSSON,J. 249 HEDBERG,B. 47
CHERNS, A. B. 105 HOPWOOD, A.G. 1,3,93,189 SANDBERG& 249
CO0K.E. 115 SATHE,V. 89
JABLONSKY,S.F. 215 SVENSSON,G. 261
DIRSMITH,M.W. 215 JONSON,L.C. 261 SWANS0N.E.B. 237
JijNSSON,B. 261
EARL,M.J. 161 JijNSSON,S. 47 TIESSEN,P. 65
EHN,P. 249 TOKUTANLM. 183
ERLANDER,B. 249 KAMIN,J.Y. 141 TUGGLE,F.D. 203
KAWANO,M. 183
FALK,H. 191 WATERHOUSE,J.H. 65
FLAMHOLTZ,E. 115 LARCKER,D.F. 203 WILDAVSKY,A. 77