Institutional Change and Performativity

Accounting standards have fundamental effects in shaping economic life. Okamoto’s fine book combines his theoretical sophistication with his in-depth understanding of the Japanese context. Altogether a tour de force!’ Prof. Donald MacKenzie, University of Edinburgh, UK Noriaki Okamoto’s book is a must-read for all who are interested in understanding accounting institutions in Japan. Its interdisciplinary perspective combining accounting and recent accounting history, institutional theory, social ontology, and performativity make it unique and useful. I believe that the book is equally valuable to those on the outside looking in as those on the inside looking out. Carien van Mourik, Open University Business School, UK This book analyzes the recent development of accounting in Japan from an interdisciplinary perspective, focusing specifically on how institutional reality is constructed. Integrating theoretical perspectives from institutional economics and performativity studies, the book creates a framework to systematically explain institutional changes and dynamics against a backdrop of increasing globalization and financialization.The first part of the book connects Searlean theories of institutional reality and social ontology with studies in performativity, particularly its linguistic aspects, to show how collectively accepted social norms can performatively shape institutions. The second section explores how these patterns can be uniquely traced in the recent history of Japan’s financial accounting standards and institutions, in particular how globalization, financialization, fair value accounting and a shareholder-value primacy form of corporate governance have prevailed. It also explores the establishment of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and the increasing global convergence of accounting standards. The book argues that multiple collectively accepted performative norms can be identified simultaneously in Japanese accounting, as well as discussing how these social dynamisms are identified and dispersed linguistically (such as by researchers and journalists). This book will be of interest to those working in accounting and financial reporting, as well as those working in social studies of finance, economic sociology, and institutional economics. Noriaki Okamoto is a professor of accounting at Rikkyo University. He was a Visiting Scholar at the London School of Economics in the Department of Accounting from 2022 to 2023. His research interests include social studies of accounting and finance, social ontology, and financialization.