Cultural Underpinnings of Nanotechnology and Industrial Development Diffusion in the Fourth Industrial Revolution: The Context of Cultural Determinism in Accounting Innovation

Abstract

The paper presents a fundamental analysis of how differential interpretations and uses of accounting innovations stimulate technological diffusion and industrial development in the argument of the relevance of accounting within the emergent technological milieu already threatening several professions. It identifies how the meanings and interpretations of accounting innovations contributed to the cultural determinants of various industrial epoch. Relying on the theory of cultural determinism in accounting and using Geert Hofstede 6D Model of National Culture to explain that the diffusion of technology and industrial development is also culturally dependent, the paper shows that the lack of the use of accounting innovation is implicated in the inability to translate technological advancements into industrial developments in parts of the world. The paper recommends that changes in the organizational structure, culture and strategy stimulated by accounting innovations be embraced to tilt the tide in favour of faster-paced translation of nanotechnology and other high-level technological advancements into industrial development in African and other developing economies.