Sustainability and Performativity

Technical accounting resources as performative topoi for sustainability

“…Performing is an action that involves acquiring skills and makes it possible to view the acquisition of knowledge about sustainability as a process of seeking. Rogers (2016, p. 222), referring to Butler (1993, p. 2), describes performativity as “the reiterative power of discourse to produce the phenomena that it regulates and constrains.” Reflection on performativity or on “the way in which sustainability is constructed discursively and with what effects … provides students [professionals] with opportunities that are open to possibilities and imaginings about the future not constrained by what currently ‘is’ or ‘ought to be’” (Rogers, 2016, p. 228). Further, according to Rogers (2016), performativity comes into play when professionals engage their emotions and are critical about the impact of accounting discourse on sustainability.…”

“…, 2020). Within this definition, there is an interweaving of the two views of sustainability education highlighted by Wals and Jickling (2002, in Rogers, 2016), i.e. predetermined and expert determined (for performance) and a process of seeking (which we link to performing).…”

“…Grisard et al. (2020, p. 2) argue that accountants should “render themselves intelligible to others.” Therefore, the values and communication involved in interventions toward sustainability are akin to a process of seeking, as conceptualized by Wals and Jickling (2002, in Rogers, 2016) (see Table 1).…”

“…(2020). It also indirectly shows the interweaving of the pre- and expert-determined and process-of-seeking approaches to sustainability interventions, as conceptualized by Wals and Jickling (2002, in Rogers, 2016). The ILTT makes it possible to better understand this interweaving process and to deconstruct professional discourse into topoi to highlight the approaches used to help professionals construct actionable knowledge for a process of change toward sustainability.…”

“…(2018), to study how accounting professionals can develop actionable knowledge to exercise their performative agency. Second, it shows the complementary nature of the two approaches highlighted by Wals and Jickling (2002, in Rogers, 2016) in their conceptualization of approaches to sustainability education (and interventions) – one called predetermined and expert determined, i.e. a fixed view of sustainability, and the other, a process of seeking.…”