An example of quantitative research in Accounting & Finance: on short-termism

I make use of Marginson et al. (2010) as an example on quatitative research in Accounting and Finance. In the article, Marginson et al. review the Accounting and Finance literature on performance measurement systems and short-termism. The main viewpoints on the topic are expressed in the form of some hypotheses which are then subject to statistical tests.  The main research objective is to determine "the extent to which the diagnostic and interactive uses of financial and non-financial measures give rise to short-termism". Their literature review describes the main viewpoints in the literature, which prompt them to formulate some hypotheses; the literature review also enables them to explain the academic value of their research on this topic; and enable them to define the terminology used in their research work (re: Figure 1 on pg. 359 of their article). Examples of the hypotheses formulated are:

1. Increasing diagnostic use of financial performance measure is associated with increasing short-termism
2. Increasingly interactive use of financial measures is negatively associated with short-termism

The research method used is questionnaire survey on senior managers in the telecommunication industry. The research design involves a pilot test before the main survey study. A quantitative research design, involving correlation analysis, is carried out for their hypothesis test purpose.

Subsequent section involves presentation of statistical data and data analysis; finally some reflection on the assumptions of the study is made, with some suggestions on future research efforts on this topic area.

This article illustrates how a quantitative research in Accounting and Finance can be carried out.



Reference
Marginson, D., McAulay, L., Roush, M. and Ziji, T.V. (2010) "Performance measures and short-termism: An exploratory study" Accounting and Business Research Vol. 40(4), pp. 353-370.