[In]visible [in]tangibles: Visual portraits of the business élite

doi:10.1016/J.AOS.2009.03.003

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[In]visible [in]tangibles: Visual portraits of the business élite

Journal Article•DOI•

[In]visible [in]tangibles: Visual portraits of the business élite

Jane Davison¹•Institutions (1)

Royal Holloway, University of London¹

01 Feb 2010-Accounting Organizations and Society (Pergamon)-Vol. 35, Iss: 2, pp 165-183

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors construct a framework from art theory to interpret portraits of the business elite and their associated intangibles, and identify four sets of rhetorical codes in portraiture: physical, dress, spatial and interpersonal.

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Abstract: Visual portraits of the business elite are widely disseminated, and form significant sites for communicating messages regarding leadership and associated intellectual, symbolic and social intangibles, yet have been neglected in accounting research. At the same time, accounting for intangibles is recognised to be inadequate. This inter-disciplinary article constructs a framework from art theory to interpret portraits of the business elite and their associated [in]visible [in]tangibles. Four sets of rhetorical codes in portraiture are identified: physical, dress, spatial and interpersonal. Illustrative portraits from annual reports and the media are analysed to indicate how [in]visible [in]tangibles are portrayed through visual rhetoric.

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Journal Article•DOI•

The Visual Dimension in Organizing, Organization, and Organization Research: Core Ideas, Current Developments, and Promising Avenues

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Renate E. Meyer¹, Markus A. Höllerer², Dennis Jancsary¹, Theo van Leeuwen³•Institutions (3)

Vienna University of Economics and Business¹, University of New South Wales², University of Technology, Sydney³

12 Mar 2013-The Academy of Management Annals

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present five distinct approaches to feature visuals in research designs and to include the visual dimension in scholarly inquiry, and introduce methodological and theoretical roots of visual studies in a number of disciplines that have a long-standing tradition of incorporating the visual.

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Abstract: With the unprecedented rise in the use of visuals, and its undeniable omnipresence in organizational contexts, as well as in the individual's everyday life, organization and management science has recently started to pay closer attention to the to date under-theorized “visual mode” of discourse and meaning construction. Building primarily on insights from the phenomenological tradition in organization theory and from social semiotics, this article sets out to consolidate previous scholarly efforts and to sketch a fertile future research agenda. After briefly exploring the workings of visuals, we introduce the methodological and theoretical “roots” of visual studies in a number of disciplines that have a long-standing tradition of incorporating the visual. We then continue by extensively reviewing work in the field of organization and management studies: More specifically, we present five distinct approaches to feature visuals in research designs and to include the visual dimension in scholarly inquiry. Su...

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355 citations

Journal Article•DOI•

Visual Management Studies: Empirical and Theoretical Approaches*

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Emma Bell¹, Jane Davison²•Institutions (2)

Keele University¹, Royal Holloway, University of London²

01 Apr 2013-International Journal of Management Reviews

TL;DR: The field of visual research in management studies is developing rapidly and has reached a point of maturity where it is useful to bring together and evaluate existing work in this area and to critically assess its current impact and future prospects.

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Abstract: The field of visual research in management studies is developing rapidly and has reached a point of maturity where it is useful to bring together and evaluate existing work in this area and to critically assess its current impact and future prospects. Visual research is broadly defined to encompass a variety of forms, including pictures, graphs, film, web pages and architecture. It also incorporates work from several sub-disciplines (organization studies, marketing, accounting, human resources, tourism and IT), and includes research based on pre-existing visual material and studies that use researcher-generated visual data. The authors begin by considering the growing recognition of the visual turn in management research as a counterweight to the linguistic turn, while also discussing reasons for resistance to visual approaches. Next, they review research that uses visual methods to study management and organization and suggest that visual management studies may be categorized according to whether methods used are empirically driven or theory based. This categorization highlights the philosophical, theoretical and interdisciplinary underpinnings of visual management studies. It also enables the visual to be accorded a status equivalent to linguistic meaning, through dispelling the realist assumptions that have impeded analytical development of visual management studies to date.

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244 citations

Cites background from "[In]visible [in]tangibles: Visual p..."

...The many and diverse issues at stake in visual management studies range from: corporate identity and brand management (Schroeder 2005, 2012) to visually constructed representations of corporate leadership (Davison 2010; Guthey and Jackson 2005); from ideological questions such as gender (Brewis 1998; Kuasirikun 2010) to fun at work (Warren 2002); memorialization of organizational death (Bell 2012) to trust and accountability (Cho et al....
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...…studies range from: corporate identity and brand management (Schroeder 2005, 2012) to visually constructed representations of corporate leadership (Davison 2010; Guthey and Jackson 2005); from ideological questions such as gender (Brewis 1998; Kuasirikun 2010) to fun at work (Warren 2002);…...
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...Also drawing on art theory, Davison (2010) constructs a model of visual portraiture from art theory (physical, dress, spatial and interpersonal codes) and uses it to analyse intangible aspects of business communicated by portraits of business leaders in corporate annual reports (e.g. Reuters CEO…...
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Journal Article•DOI•

Impression Management in Sustainability Reports: An Empirical Investigation of the Use of Graphs

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Charles H. Cho, Giovanna Michelon, Dennis M. Patten

08 Jun 2012-Accounting and The Public Interest

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigate whether firms use graphs in their sustainability reports in order to present a more favorable view of their social and environmental performance, and they find considerable evidence of favorable selectivity bias in the choice of items graphed, and moderate evidence that where distortion in graphing occurs, it also has a favorable bias.

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Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether firms use graphs in their sustainability reports in order to present a more favorable view of their social and environmental performance. Further, because prior research indicates that companies use social and environmental disclosure as a tool to reduce their exposure to social and political pressures (the legitimacy argument), we also examine whether differences in the extent of impression management are associated with differences in social and environmental performance. Based on an analysis of graphs in sustainability reports for a sample of 77 U.S. companies for 2006, we find considerable evidence of favorable selectivity bias in the choice of items graphed, and moderate evidence that where distortion in graphing occurs, it also has a favorable bias. Our results regarding the relation between impression management and performance are mixed. Whereas we find that graphs of social items in sustainability reports for companies with worse socia...

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161 citations

Journal Article•DOI•

Using Photographs to Research Organizations: Evidence, Considerations, and Application in a Field Study

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Joshua L. Ray¹, Anne D. Smith¹•Institutions (1)

University of Tennessee¹

01 Apr 2012-Organizational Research Methods

TL;DR: In this article, the authors identify researcher choices related to the use of photographs in organizational research, clarify the advantages and disadvantages of these choices, and discuss ethical and other special considerations of photographs.

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Abstract: Despite calls for more visual methodologies in organizational research, the use of photographs remains sparse. Organizational research could benefit from the inclusion of photographs to track contemporary change processes in an organization and change processes over time, as well as to incorporate diverse voices within organizations, to name a few advantages. To further understanding, the authors identify researcher choices related to the use of photographs in organizational research, clarify the advantages and disadvantages of these choices, and discuss ethical and other special considerations of the use of photographs. They highlight several organizational areas of research, primarily related to the management discipline, that could benefit from the inclusion of photographs. Finally, the authors describe how they used photographs in a study of one organization and specifically how their intended research design with photographs changed over the course of the study as well as how photographs helped to de...

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124 citations

Cites background or methods from "[In]visible [in]tangibles: Visual p..."

...Sometimes researchers are interested in the images selected and projected by a business organization, such as those included in annual reports (Davison, 2010; Dougherty & Kunda, 1990; Preston & Young, 2000)....
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...To clarify, some use of photographs is embedded in a field study (e.g., Heisley & Levy, 1991; Kobayashi et al., 2008; Venkatraman & Nelson, 2008); other photographic uses do not entail interaction with the field (e.g., Davison, 2010; Guthey & Jackson, 2005; Preston & Young, 2000)....
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...…example, photographs in annual reports have been interpreted to examine stable corporate customer orientations over time in marketing (Dougherty & Kunda, 1990), to study leadership traits (Davison, 2010), and to examine corporate global identity construction in accounting (Preston & Young, 2000)....
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...If archival images are being used, permission to reproduce will usually be required by journal editors (see Davison, 2010; Preston & Young, 2000)....
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Journal Article•DOI•

From meticulous professionals to superheroes of the business world: a historical portrait of a cultural change in the field of accountancy

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Claire-France Picard¹, Sylvain Durocher, Yves Gendron¹•Institutions (1)

Laval University¹

20 Jun 2014-Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal

TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine the cultural shift from professionalism to commercialism in the accounting profession based on an analysis of the promotional brochures used by the Ordre des comptables du Quebec, over the last forty years, to attract new members.

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Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to examine the cultural shift from professionalism to commercialism in the accounting profession based on an analysis of the promotional brochures used by the Ordre des comptables agrees du Quebec, over the last forty years, to attract new members The specific objectives are to examine accountancy's cultural representations depicted in brochures and to establish whether the representations under study provide further insight into the nature of the cultural shift Drawing on the semiotic approach developed by Roland Barthes, our analysis is predicated on the idea that promotional brochures, though often simple in appearance, constitute complex representations that convey meaningful information about influential values and cultural change

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97 citations

Cites background from "[In]visible [in]tangibles: Visual p..."

...…du Québec (OCAQ) over the last four decades.3 More than mere recruitment documents aimed at attracting candidates to the profession, the representations of accountants promoted through advertising material reflect and contribute to the development and transformation of culture (Davison, 2010)....
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...More than mere recruitment documents aimed at attracting candidates to the profession, the representations of accountants promoted through advertising material reflect and contribute to the development and transformation of culture (Davison, 2010)....
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...While the diversity of clothing styles can be interpreted as a sign of dynamism and creativity (Davison, 2010) and the use of sketched photos as a sign of originality, the predominance of traditional clothes such as suits acts as a reminder of Figure 10....
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...However, an emerging field of research has begun to examine the visual content of organizational reports to better understand corporate values (Davison, 2009, 2010, 2011), globalization (Preston and Young, 2000), the role of women and cultural diversity in organizational life (Benschop and…...
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...The fact that all of the photos were taken in a conversational context (in group or by telephone) underlines the social and interpersonal nature of CAs (Davison, 2010)....
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References

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Open Access

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Journal Article•DOI•

Intellectual capital and the 'capable firm': narrating, visualising and numbering for managing knowledge

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Jan Mouritsen¹, Heine Thorsgaard Larsen¹, Per Nikolaj Bukh²•Institutions (2)

Copenhagen Business School¹, Aarhus University²

01 Oct 2001-Accounting Organizations and Society

TL;DR: In this paper, the actor-network-theory is invoked to suggest that the intellectual capital statement is a centre of translation, which mobilises knowledge management via three interrelated elements: knowledge narratives, visualisations and numbers.

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Abstract: Intellectual capital statements are ‘new’ forms of reporting whose object is knowledge management activities. Based on 17 firms’ work to develop intellectual capital statements, this paper analyses them as managerial technologies making knowledge amenable to intervention. Aspects of actor-network-theory are mobilised to suggest that the intellectual capital statement is a centre of translation, which mobilises knowledge management via three interrelated elements: knowledge narratives, visualisations and numbers. Intellectual capital statements report on the mechanisms put in place to make knowledge manageable. Writing intellectual capital is a local story, which often concerns making knowledge collective and a process of allowing it to be oriented towards organisational ends. In such a story, knowledge is about a firm's capabilities and abilities to make a difference to a user. When writing an intellectual capital statement, firms locate employees, customers, processes and technologies and orient them towards a user. However, the statement as such is a means of ‘dis-locating’ knowledge resources making them amenable to intervention. There are certain broad types of intervention that allows a classification of strategies of intervention to be proposed. These terms are portfolio management, improvement activities and productivity. Such forms of intervention circumscribe the aspiration to transform knowledge from something internal to the person into something that is the effect of a collective arrangement. They allow—through intellectual capital statements—the dark, tacit knowing of individuals to come into the open space of calculation and action at a distance.

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553 citations

Book•

Visual Persuasion: The Role of Images in Advertising

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Paul Messaris

05 Dec 1996

TL;DR: The Theory of Images in Advertising as discussed by the authors is a theory of images in advertising that describes the relationship between images and reality in the advertising process, visual truth, visual lie, and visual deception.

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Abstract: Introduction A Theory of Images in Advertising PART ONE: IMAGE AS SIMULATED REALITY Pictures and Reality Visual Form and Style Can Pictures Bridge Cultures? PART TWO: IMAGE AS EVIDENCE Visual Truth, Visual Lies PART THREE: IMAGE AS IMPLIED SELLING PROPOSITION Editing and Montage Showing the Unspoken Epilogue Ethics of Visual Persuasion

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549 citations

Journal Article•DOI•

Managerial Ability and Earnings Quality

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Peter R. Demerjian¹, Baruch Lev², Melissa F. Lewis³, Sarah E. McVay⁴•Institutions (4)

Emory University¹, New York University², University of Utah³, University of Washington⁴

01 Mar 2013-The Accounting Review

TL;DR: This article examined the relation between managerial ability and earnings quality and found that more able managers are associated with fewer subsequent restatements, higher earnings and accruals persistence, lower errors in the bad debt provision, and higher quality accrual estimations.

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Abstract: : We examine the relation between managerial ability and earnings quality. We find that earnings quality is positively associated with managerial ability. Specifically, more able managers are associated with fewer subsequent restatements, higher earnings and accruals persistence, lower errors in the bad debt provision, and higher quality accrual estimations. The results are consistent with the premise that managers can and do impact the quality of the judgments and estimates used to form earnings. Data Availability: Data are publicly available from the sources identified in the text.

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508 citations

Journal Article•DOI•

Believing one's own press: the causes and consequences of CEO celebrity

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Mathew L. A. Hayward¹, Violina P. Rindova², Timothy G. Pollock²•Institutions (2)

University of Colorado Boulder¹, University of Maryland, College Park²

01 Jul 2004-Strategic Management Journal

TL;DR: This article introduced the construct of CEO celebrity to explain how the tendency of journalists to attribute a firm's actions and outcomes to the volition of its CEO affects such a firm, and developed a model developed here, where journalists celebrated a CEO whose firm takes strategic actions that are distinctive and consistent by attributing such actions and performance to the firm's CEO.

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Abstract: This theoretical article introduces the construct of CEO celebrity in order to explain how the tendency of journalists to attribute a firm's actions and outcomes to the volition of its CEO affects such firm. In the model developed here, journalists celebrate a CEO whose firm takes strategic actions that are distinctive and consistent by attributing such actions and performance to the firm's CEO. In so doing, journalists over-attribute a firm's actions and outcomes to the disposition of its CEO rather than to broader situational factors. A CEO who internalizes such celebrity will also tend to believe this over-attribution and become overconfident about the efficacy of her past actions and future abilities. Hubris arises when CEO overconfidence results in problematic firm decisions, including undue persistence with actions that produce celebrity. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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501 citations

Journal Article•DOI•

Organizational Dress as a Symbol of Multilayered Social Identities

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Michael G. Pratt¹, Anat Rafaeli²•Institutions (2)

University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign¹, Hebrew University of Jerusalem²

01 Aug 1997-Academy of Management Journal

TL;DR: In this article, qualitative data collected in a rehabilitation unit of a large hospital reveal how organization members used dress to represent and negotiate a web of issues inherent to the hybrid identities of the unit and the nursing profession.

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Abstract: Qualitative data collected in a rehabilitation unit of a large hospital reveal how organization members used dress to represent and negotiate a web of issues inherent to the hybrid identities of the unit and the nursing profession. As different issues were considered, dress took on various and often contradictory meanings. Thus, a seemingly simple symbol such as organizational dress is shown here to reveal the complex notion of social identity, which is argued to comprise multiple layers of meaning. We discuss the implications of this thesis for theory and research on organizational identity, organizational symbolism, organizational dress, and ambivalence.

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500 citations