The Gladiatorial Combat: using an Arena Metaphor in Social and Environmental Accounting Research

Metaphors have been utilised in qualitative research as a theoretical frame. The use of an arena invokes the contested nature of social and environmental issues and the role of resources in decision-making and negotiation. However, as with all metaphors, certain interests are highlighted and others are obscured. Consideration of the arena and the associated characteristics of a ‘battle’ serve to privilege a worldview where power and access to resources dominate in contrast to the Habermasian ideal of open critical enquiry and different dimensions of reality.