Rationalities, Domination and Accounting Control: A Case Study from a Traditional Society

Previous studies on management control in less developed countries have mainly concentrated on the state and privatised enterprises. Drawing upon Weber?s work (1958, 1961, 1968, 1978) on traditional society, and a Weberian framework developed by Colignon and Covaleski (1991), this paper seeks to understand ?private management practices?, including accounting, in a stock exchange listed company (public limited company). The case study evidence indicates that organisational controls are biased to serve the dominant owners or family/sponsors of the company instead of general shareholders. The paper argues that family dominance is facilitated by the external and internal layers within which the company is operating. The greater understanding of traditional societies developed in Weber?s works (1978) is very useful in explaining why managers work to serve the family. Domination by family via trusted managers using accounting calculations instead of bureaucracy is highly relevant, as the case study shows. These findings are not dissimilar to those of previous studies conducted in privatised and family-owned companies in Bangladesh and elsewhere. The paper calls for more research on management accounting practices employing Weber?s works, especially in traditional societies.