The evolution of scientific/intellectual movements: Exploring the formulation of a socio-ecological perspective on accounting

Motivated by the accumulation of concerns about the research culture in accounting, and its (insufficient) contribution to major socio-ecological challenges in the Anthropocene, this paper explores how scholars can be mobilized to build collective intellectual frames and identities as a precursor to generating new knowledge. We report on an in vivo study into a deliberative process that commenced in 2020 involving a group of scholars that sought to articulate a socio-ecological perspective on accounting (the S-E group). Informed by Scientific/Intellectual Movements literature, the paper presents a participatory and reflexive analysis of the initial stages of this initiative as it develops. The study shows how the mobilizing force of grievances derived from the marginalization of relevant ecological and social justice concerns in the accounting discipline provides the motivation for intellectual development. The review of the group also highlights the narrative and material resources the movement employs to remove the obstacles to advance a socio-ecological research program that, ultimately, is targeting all accounting research. Finally, this paper argues that innovative and socially relevant research requires time and dedication and collective organisation, an aspect that is often downplayed in a fragmented, virtual and accelerated world.