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"When considering societal expectations and traditions in research, assumptions are often an integral aspect – particularly in the disciplines pertaining to organization studies. The objective of this anthology is to analyze, clarify and demystify assumptions about research and the way that organizations work.

The book is interdisciplinary in its form and content. The chapters are in part theoretical and analytical, yet draw on various empirical illustrations. In doing so, the book touches on the research process, basic assumptions in research, possibilities as well as pitfalls that both novice researchers as well as more experienced ones ought to keep in mind.

The individual chapters address research and publication through a range of areas and topics including: accounting and management control, examination of the term 'organization' itself, and exploration of behavioral and social processes that lead to change in organizations and society as a whole. All of the chapters illuminate different roles in the research process in organization studies.

Dealing with Expectations and Traditions in Research will be of interest to researchers on all levels, including PhD students and master's students writing term papers and their theses, as well as in methodological courses and discussions."

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide a global overview of the adoption status of International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSASs) in the different contexts of developed and developing countries on central government level, particularly delineating key reform issues and attempts to overcome these.


Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on an analytical framework that combines neo-institutional theory with diffusion theory, prior research and official documents were re-analysed.


Findings
There are substantial differences regarding whether countries acknowledge having experienced large implementation challenges and the extent to which the reform benefits have been achieved. The study sheds light on the (institutional) underpinnings of these differences.


Research limitations/implications
First, the analysis could be extended to regional and local governments, as well as social funds. Both qualitative and quantitative strategies are suggested. Second, the implementation of the conceptual framework deserves further attention. Third, further research should more thoroughly scrutinise cost-benefit analyses used for justifying the (non)implementation of IPSASs, and in particular the assumptions that are being made in such analyses.


Practical implications
The paper informs policymakers and standard setters by delineating the areas and issues complicating the widespread adoption of IPSASs across countries, including pointing out directions to overcome these.


Social implications
Substantial amounts of public money are invested internationally to converge accounting standards and translate them into native languages. A close(r) monitoring is needed to ensure that these efforts obtain sufficient value for money.


Originality/value
This study is original as it applies an analytical framework that combines neo-institutional theory and diffusion theory to examine public sector accounting convergence issues internationally. Such an approach explicitly puts a focus on decoupling between reform "talk" (decision) and "walk" (implementation) and helps to analyse the reasons for this decoupling.