Agent-based Computational Economics in Management Accounting Research: Opportunities and Difficulties

TL;DR

This paper explores the potential and challenges of applying agent-based computational economics to management accounting research, offering a framework for researchers to evaluate its suitability.

Contribution

It introduces a novel framework for management accounting researchers to assess the opportunities and difficulties of using ACE as a research paradigm.

Findings

Highlights ACE's potential for management accounting research

Identifies key difficulties in adopting ACE in MAR

Provides a comparative analysis with other research methods

Abstract

Agent-based computational economics (ACE) - while adopted comparably widely in other domains of managerial science - is a rather novel paradigm for management accounting research (MAR). This paper provides an overview of opportunities and difficulties that ACE may have for research in management accounting and, in particular, introduces a framework that researchers in management accounting may employ when considering ACE as a paradigm for their particular research endeavor. The framework builds on the two interrelated paradigmatic elements of ACE: a set of theoretical assumptions on economic agents and the approach of agent-based modeling. Particular focus is put on contrasting opportunities and difficulties of ACE in comparison to other research methods employed in MAR.