Bridging management, organisational and accounting history with the industrial heritage debate

Past managerial, organisational and accounting (MOA) practices can be preserved through archives, the production of documentaries and the publication of articles and books. However, the history of these practices can also be preserved and narrated in situ, that is, in industrial heritage sites. The article provides an analysis of the interplay between industrial heritage and MOA history research at two levels. First, we show how MOA history contributions to the debate have been quite marginal, despite the common focus on the past of business activities. Second, moving to the level of industrial heritage sites, we analyse six industrial heritage sites regenerated for different uses and provide evidence of different degrees and ways of integrating MOA history into the presentation of a site. The article is a call for research into industrial heritage sites as representations of the intangible meanings, deepening the link between managerial and accounting knowledge and material culture.