Institutional theory in accounting research: a review

Abstract The aim of this paper is to analyze the new directions and tendencies of research in Accounting that draws on the Institutional theory. Thus, in other to achieve this objective, a systematic literature review was carried out using the main Accounting journals in Brazil (Qualis A1, A2 and B2 journals) and internationally (ABS (2010) list grades 3 and 4 journals). 135 articles (32 Brazilian and 103 international papers) were analyzed. These papers were classified according to the research topics identified in previous studies. This paper contributes to the analysis of trends in the use of the Institutional Theory in Accounting research, as well as discussing a research agenda for the future. As a result, our study provides a systematic and informative analysis of the accounting literature based on the Institutional Theory that might expand the understanding, the debate and the use of such theory as a theoretical lens for the explanation of complex phenomena in the field of Accounting.