In this paper we highlight key challenges which arise due to a transition of doctoral
education in accounting towards the US model in the German-speaking area. We identify
two main changes in PhD education, firstly the introduction of graduate schools and/or
mandatory course programmes and secondly a focus on highly ranked academic journals
as outlets for research. We reflect on how these changes affect the attitude of doctoral
students towards the research and publication process. In particular we show how and
why this setting fosters a focus on a common, narrow notion of knowledge leading to
short-term tangible outcomes (e.g. a ‘hit’ in a ‘top’ journal), and elucidate what may be
gained and lost by the changes with respect to the longer-term sustainability of the
academy.