Understanding IFRS adoption: Consideration of the institutional dimension through a behavioral context

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to discern the impact of main behavioral factors that could affect the decision of adopting IFRS in developing countries (DCs). In other words, this work looks to identify the different variables that are likely to influence the adoption of IFRS in these countries.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodological orientation of this research is to highlight and analyze the correlation between the cited factors and the IFRS adoption in DCs. Tested models are functions of logistic regression. To assess the parameters of these functions, the commonly used method is not that of ordinary least square but the maximum likelihood technique. In short, this study followed a hypothetical-deductive methodology by referring to the application of a logistic regression for each of the variables presumed to be analyzed. The authors implement this empirical model by using the neo-institutional approach and basing on a sample of 108 DCs.

Findings

The empirical results show that there exists a bidirectional causal relationship between the majority of the developed behavioral variables and the decision of whether adopting or unadopting IFRS by DCs. They also indicate through multivariate analysis that the selection of IFRS by DCs is primarily legitimized by institutional and social pressures (institutional isomorphism).

Research limitations/implications

It is essential to indicate that some limits might be assigned to the study. They are attached principally to the use of a dichotomous dependent variable which presents a restriction in a sense where the robust inequality at the level of the numbers of the countries of sub-samples can relatively weaken the findings. There are also few studies that jointly analyze the behavioral dimensions within a country and the adoption of IFRS. Institutional theory emanated from the research has proved useful in escaping this limit.

Practical implications

These empirical insights are of particular interest to local accounting standard setters of the selected countries since they can provide a better discernment of factors that can encourage the adoption of IFRS. Indeed, the research can be a reference for governments to better identify the economic, political and institutional obstacles that have an impact on behaviors which could compel countries to flee the adoption of IFRS. This paper will also be helpful for future research studying the links between human behavior and accounting in a general way. It should be noted that the results will be significant for future studies looking for real behavioral factors that drive a country to adopt an accounting framework. The studies will be able to use the empirical variables as a starting point and then they can extract new measures to identify the impact of behavior on decisions to adopt any standards.

Originality/value

At the present study, the authors strive to provide input to the literature by focusing on the determinants of the choice of an accounting practice in a DC reverberating to a new dimension which is the behavioral attribute.

Citation

Riahi, O. and Khoufi, W. (2019), "Understanding IFRS adoption: Consideration of the institutional dimension through a behavioral context", Journal of Applied Accounting Research, Vol. 20 No. 4, pp. 543-570. https://doi.org/10.1108/JAAR-02-2017-0034