To boldly go where no one has gone before: a critical realist approach to space accounting

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how critical realism can be mobilised as a meta-theory, or philosophical under-labourer, for research on space accounting and how this may further inquiries into the known as well as the unknown implications of space exploration and commercialisation.Design/methodology/approachThis is a conceptual paper that applies critical realism to the field of space accounting using cost management in space contracts as an illustrative example.FindingsAdopting a naturalised version of critical realism that recognises the complex interplay between natural and social realities, the author nuances the distinction between intransitive and transitive objects of knowledge and advances a framework that may be used as a starting point for a transfactual mode of reasoning. The author then applies this mode of reasoning to the topic of cost management in the space sector and illustrates how it may enhance our insights into what causes cost overruns in space contracts.Research limitations/implicationsBy adopting a naturalised version of critical realism, the author establishes a philosophical framework that can support the broadly based, inter-disciplinary research agenda that has been envisaged for research on space accounting and possibly inform policy development.Originality/valueThis paper is the first to apply a critical realist perspective to space accounting and lays a philosophical foundation for future research on the topic.

Not because it is easy … accounting research enters the space age

“…The nine papers comprising this special issue provided a very diverse mix in terms of conceptual perspective, research design and implications for knowledge, policy and practice. The first paper by Modell (2024) advances a philosophical foundation, grounded in critical realism, for future space accounting research and illustrates a cost management application in the space sector. In extending a naturalised version of critical realism to the space accounting domain, Modell emphasises the need to transcend the empiricist research tradition, in which much contemporary accounting research is arguably steeped, towards the use of transfactual thought experiments as a complement to empirical research.…”

No Business Without Politics: Investigating the Political Nature of Supply Chain Management

“…While the complexity of the critical realist position has been discussed in many contributions (Bhaskar, 1975(Bhaskar, , 1979Danermark et al, 2019;Modell, 2015Modell, , 2020Sayer, 2000b), and specifically related to operations and supply chain management (Eriksson, 2015;Towers et al, 2020, Aastrup andHalldórsson, 2008), we draw on methodological and epistemological developments from the last decades Illari & Williamson, 2012a;Sober, 2009) to carve out our ideas on the critical realist case study.…”