Micro foundations in the Great Divergence debate: Opening up the perspective

Prevailing approaches in historical studies have been dominated by a macro view and placed an overwhelming emphasis on the Industrial Revolution as a major discontinuity in Western development. On the contrary, recent research in accounting, management, and business history has suggested a different direction. When opting for a micro-level focus, crucial discontinuities in management and accounting in the West can be traced further back to the Renaissance period. This article thus searches for “micro foundations” in managing and accounting practices to address the ongoing debate on the East–West divergence. Despite the obvious problems with source availability, we outline a new research agenda for the debate.