Description
How have we come to know the economy and the ®rm? This is the question confronted in this article.
The argument is that it is through forms of visualisation (tables, charts, ®gures, diagrams, pictures and
so on) that our knowledge and sense about the ®rm and the economy are constructed. Accounting and
economics texts abound with these visual techniques, which gives them a certain af®nity. Common
techniques of visualization shared by both accounting and economics are used as a basis for a re¯ection
on the theoretical and practical nature of the ``encounter'' between these two intellectual domains. The
term ``encounter'' is used instead of the more obvious term ``relationship'' to indicate the contingent and
problematic character of the common use of visual techniques. These encounters are situated within a
framework that stresses the epistemic diversity of the forms of visualisation and their meaning
doc_290510689.pdf
How have we come to know the economy and the ®rm? This is the question confronted in this article.
The argument is that it is through forms of visualisation (tables, charts, ®gures, diagrams, pictures and
so on) that our knowledge and sense about the ®rm and the economy are constructed. Accounting and
economics texts abound with these visual techniques, which gives them a certain af®nity. Common
techniques of visualization shared by both accounting and economics are used as a basis for a re¯ection
on the theoretical and practical nature of the ``encounter'' between these two intellectual domains. The
term ``encounter'' is used instead of the more obvious term ``relationship'' to indicate the contingent and
problematic character of the common use of visual techniques. These encounters are situated within a
framework that stresses the epistemic diversity of the forms of visualisation and their meaning
doc_290510689.pdf