Hello everyone!
My name is Sue Wallbank. I started my academic journey by reading for a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce, majoring in accountancy and insurance and finance. During my undergraduate studies I developed a passion for accountancy and hence I furthered my studies by pursuing a Bachelor of Accountancy (Hons) Degree, where I graduated as an accountant. After working in industry at one of the big four accounting firms I decided to pursue a career as a lecturer. I have been employed as a lecturer in higher educational institutions for the past 13 years. After a few years as a lecturer, I decided to continue my studies and pursued a Masters in Accountancy.
Whilst my teaching and mentoring experiences have been immensely rewarding, I have always felt a strong pull towards advancing my own research capabilities. My research interests lie at the intersection of Accounting and Innovation Management. I am particularly fascinated by the role of the management accounting function in fostering innovation.
I intend to adopt a mixed-method research approach as this will allow an analysis of the quantitative impact of management accounting practices on innovation as well as the qualitative experiences of management accountants and management groups. This approach bridges different epistemological assumptions. It aligns with positivism since the research will include quantitative elements to measure and observe realities. However, a mixed methods approach is more closely aligned with post positivism leading to interpretivism, which recognises the complexity of reality and the need for multiple ways of understanding it. Post positivism encourages combining approaches (quantitative and qualitative) to enhance understanding, allowing for both objective measurement and subjective meaning.