The article demonstrates how imposing global accounting regulations in local contexts is rarely seamless and can induce significant and successful resistance from local accounting firms. By conducting a longitudinal qualitative study from 1998 to 2018, the article highlights how globalized efforts to enhance accounting quality which suited Big 4 accounting firms, clashed with localized understandings of accounting practices among smaller accounting firms in Germany. A perceived threat of marginalization led to an eruption in severe intra-professional conflict and the formation of a new professional association for small accounting firms. The study’s findings remind us that the global domination of Big 4 professionals in transnational regulatory structures should not be taken for granted in local contexts.
Georg Loscher, Lukas Löhlein & Hansrudi Lenz (2021) Dual Roles and Blurred Identities: A Framing Contest between Professional Associations in a Local Strategic Action Field, European Accounting Review, DOI: 10.1080/09638180.2021.1882319
Published online 26 Feb 2021