关系型交易的会计治理——关于中国会计研究国际化的范式探析

The Governance Role of Accounting in Relationship-based Transactions:Paradigm Exploration of Internationalized China's Accounting Research

文章以实证科学的标准对中国会计研究国际化成果进行了评析,并提供了基于中国特色会计实践的理论构建逻辑,以丰富中国会计研究的国际化路径。实证主义认识论向来强调实践在理论发展中的重要作用,认为通过猜想来构建解释和预测实践的理论,并以实践对理论进行证伪,是人类获取知识的唯一路径。西方会计研究的历史沿革充分体现了会计实践在理论猜想和反驳中的重要作用,寓意了中国特色会计实践作为中国会计研究国际化价值源泉的合理性。为此,文章根据中国会计实践在理论检验中的作用,将发表于国际期刊的相关论文分为两类:支持型和反驳型,前者注重以中国会计实践对西方既有理论进行检验,其研究目的是提供支持理论预测的经验证据,指出相关理论在中国的适用性;后者则关注中国特色会计实践,目的是提供与理论预测不一致的经验证据,强调相关理论用于中国的局限性。这些文献尽管推动了西方既有理论的发展,但没有构建基于中国特色实践的新理论,从而对甄别中国会计实践特色以及这些实践背后运行规律的帮助有限。文章认为,产权经济学以产权作为分析工具,强调商业模式相对于制度的内生性,为我们从制度视角甄别和解读中国特色会计实践提供了分析路径。文章最后分析了会计信息在关系型交易中的治理逻辑,指出根植于中国特色制度的关系型交易模式对会计信息的要求与西方市场化交易模式具有根本的不同,未来中国会计研究的目标是提出一套概念框架和逻辑规则,解释和预测会计在关系型交易中的治理作用。这不仅可以丰富研究对实践的指导意义,还可提高中国会计研究的国际化价值。

With an aim to contribute to the internationalization of China＇s accounting research, this paper reviews prior China accounting studies within a framework of positiv- ist epistemology, and then provides theoretical construction logic based on accounting practice with Chinese characteristics.Positivist epistemology always emphasizes the impor- tant role of practice in theoretical development, and notes that the only way for human be- ings to obtain knowledge is to construct theories which are used to explain phenomena and predict practices through conjectures and then test theories with empirical data to eliminate the false ones.The history and rapid growth of western accounting research prove the im- portance role of practice in theoretical conjectures and refutation, and imply the rationality of accounting practice with Chinese characteristics as value source of the internationaliza- tion of China＇s accounting research.Along this line, according to the role of China＇s ac-counting practice in theoretical test, the China accounting studies covered in this paper are classified into two categories, supportive and critical.The first group of studies focuses on providing empirical evidence using China data to support existing western theories, while the second group of studies places emphasis on accounting practice with Chinese character- istics to provide empirical evidence which is not in accordance with theoretical predictions and point out the limitations of related theories applicable to China.Although both groups of studies make contributions to the development of existing western theories, they have not constructed new theories based on accounting practice with Chinese characteristics, so they have limited assistance to the identification of characteristics of China＇s accounting practice and operation rules behind the practice. It argues that property rights economics takes property rights as an analytical tool, and emphasizes that business models are endog- enous to institutional variables, thus offering the analytical route to the identification and explanation of accounting practice with Chinese characteristics from an institutional per- spective.Finally it analyzes the governance logic of accounting information in relationship- based transactions, and points out that the demand for accounting information in relation- ship-based transaction model is basically different from the one in western market-based transaction model.Future China＇s accounting research aims to propose a set of conceptual framework and logic rules to explain and predict the governance role of accounting in rela- tionship-based transactions.It not only enriches the guidance of research to practice, but al- so increases the internationalization value of China＇s accounting research.