Comparative International Government Accounting Research (Cigar) Methodology: Issues and Strategies

Abstract

The Lüder Contingency Model (Lüter, 1989, 1992, 1996) has served as the benchmark conceptual framework for comparative international government accounting research. The model seeks to explain why some countries have undertaken government accounting innovations while others have not. Lüder theorizes that those innovations are the result of complex interactions of contextual variables and behavioral variables that describe the users and suppliers of government financial information. For example, the general public may be influenced by interest groups (e.g. the accounting profession) and the capital markets, which serve as cost-reducing information intermediaries. Political culture (e.g. the norm of accountability) and political competition (e.g. between political parties or factions), along with occasional or frequent fiscal crises or scandals may affect the way political leaders view financial accountability. Similarly, the demand for administrative accountability and receptivity to private sector practices may influence the way the bureaucracy views the information it provides to the legislature and the public at large. In other words, societal, political and administrative structural variables are hypothesized to have significant effects on the expectations and behavior of those who demand and supply government financial information. When a particular configuration of these variables creates favorable conditions sufficient to overcome the implementation barriers, innovations are likely to occur.