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1 – 10 of over 43000Marc Wouters and Susana Morales
To provide an overview of research published in the management accounting literature on methods for cost management in new product development, such as a target costing, life…
Abstract
Purpose
To provide an overview of research published in the management accounting literature on methods for cost management in new product development, such as a target costing, life cycle costing, component commonality, and modular design.
Methodology/approach
The structured literature search covered papers about 15 different cost management methods published in 40 journals in the period 1990–2013.
Findings
The search yielded a sample of 113 different papers. Many contained information about more than one method, and this yielded 149 references to specific methods. The number of references varied strongly per cost management method and per journal. Target costing has received by far the most attention in the publications in our sample; modular design, component commonality, and life cycle costing were ranked second and joint third. Most references were published in Management Science; Management Accounting Research; and Accounting, Organizations and Society. The results were strongly influenced by Management Science and Decision Science, because cost management methods with an engineering background were published above average in these two journals (design for manufacturing, component commonality, modular design, and product platforms) while other topics were published below average in these two journals.
Research Limitations/Implications
The scope of this review is accounting research. Future work could review the research on cost management methods in new product development published outside accounting.
Originality/value
The paper centers on methods for cost management, which complements reviews that focused on theoretical constructs of management accounting information and its use.
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The essential investments in new product development (NPD) made by industrial companies entail effective management of NPD activities. In this context, performance measurement is…
Abstract
The essential investments in new product development (NPD) made by industrial companies entail effective management of NPD activities. In this context, performance measurement is one of the means that can be employed in the pursuit of effectiveness.
Marc Wouters, Susana Morales, Sven Grollmuss and Michael Scheer
The paper provides an overview of research published in the innovation and operations management (IOM) literature on 15 methods for cost management in new product development, and…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper provides an overview of research published in the innovation and operations management (IOM) literature on 15 methods for cost management in new product development, and it provides a comparison to an earlier review of the management accounting (MA) literature (Wouters & Morales, 2014).
Methodology/approach
This structured literature search covers papers published in 23 journals in IOM in the period 1990–2014.
Findings
The search yielded a sample of 208 unique papers with 275 results (one paper could refer to multiple cost management methods). The top 3 methods are modular design, component commonality, and product platforms, with 115 results (42%) together. In the MA literature, these three methods accounted for 29%, but target costing was the most researched cost management method by far (26%). Simulation is the most frequently used research method in the IOM literature, whereas this was averagely used in the MA literature; qualitative studies were the most frequently used research method in the MA literature, whereas this was averagely used in the IOM literature. We found a lot of papers presenting practical approaches or decision models as a further development of a particular cost management method, which is a clear difference from the MA literature.
Research limitations/implications
This review focused on the same cost management methods, and future research could also consider other cost management methods which are likely to be more important in the IOM literature compared to the MA literature. Future research could also investigate innovative cost management practices in more detail through longitudinal case studies.
Originality/value
This review of research on methods for cost management published outside the MA literature provides an overview for MA researchers. It highlights key differences between both literatures in their research of the same cost management methods.
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Anni Lindholm and Petri Suomala
The purpose of this paper is to discuss life cycle cost management and highlight the practical challenges related to collecting adequate data and practicing long‐term cost…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to discuss life cycle cost management and highlight the practical challenges related to collecting adequate data and practicing long‐term cost management in an uncertain environment.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper reports a case study conducted in the Finnish Defence Forces. As part of the case study, a life cycle cost model for a case product was developed.
Findings
Activity‐based life cycle cost modeling can provide relevant information for varying product management needs at different stages in the life of a product. Quantification of uncertainty is one of the elements in the modeling that can improve the feasibility of LCC both for cost estimation and tracking purposes.
Originality/value
Only a few empirical studies on life cycle costing have been reported which focus on the defence sector. The paper contributes to our understanding of how LCC can be used in a continuous manner and depicts how LCC can produce a sharpened cost image of a particular product.
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The purpose of this paper is to present a new method for life‐cycle costing (LCC) called activity‐based LCC by employing the comprehensive activity‐based life‐cycle assessment…
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to present a new method for life‐cycle costing (LCC) called activity‐based LCC by employing the comprehensive activity‐based life‐cycle assessment method. A real‐life case study of a platform supply vessel operating in the North Sea is utilized to present the method, illustrate an implementation, including results, and discuss the benefits. Furthermore, due to the inherent uncertainty in LCC, handling of uncertainty is emphasized. A crucial side‐effect of handling uncertainty by employing Monte Carlo simulations – as activity‐based LCA prescribes – is the greatly enhanced tracing of critical success factors. Such tracing enables the shipowners to increase long‐term profitability by focusing on what is critical to their success. Also, a design option of using heavy fuel oil versus marine gas oil is investigated.
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Gordon Wills, Sherril H. Kennedy, John Cheese and Angela Rushton
To achieve a full understanding of the role ofmarketing from plan to profit requires a knowledgeof the basic building blocks. This textbookintroduces the key concepts in the art…
Abstract
To achieve a full understanding of the role of marketing from plan to profit requires a knowledge of the basic building blocks. This textbook introduces the key concepts in the art or science of marketing to practising managers. Understanding your customers and consumers, the 4 Ps (Product, Place, Price and Promotion) provides the basic tools for effective marketing. Deploying your resources and informing your managerial decision making is dealt with in Unit VII introducing marketing intelligence, competition, budgeting and organisational issues. The logical conclusion of this effort is achieving sales and the particular techniques involved are explored in the final section.
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Ifeyinwa Orji and Sun Wei
Manufacturing firms are expected to implement green manufacturing and increase product complexity at a competitive price. However, a major problem for engineering managers is to…
Abstract
Purpose
Manufacturing firms are expected to implement green manufacturing and increase product complexity at a competitive price. However, a major problem for engineering managers is to ascertain the costs of embarking on green manufacturing. Thus, a planning and control methodology for costing of green manufacturing at the early design stage is important for engineering managers. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper integrates “green manufacturing,” concepts of industrial dynamics, and product lifecycle aiming at developing a methodology for cost calculation. The methodology comprises of a process-based cost model and a systems dynamics (SD) model. The process-based cost model focusses mainly on carbon emission costs and energy-saving activities. Important metrics usually ignored in traditional static modeling were incorporated using SD model.
Findings
Equipment costs and carbon emission costs are major components of costs in manufacturing. The total life cycle cost of product in green manufacturing is lower than that of same product in conventional manufacturing.
Research limitations/implications
The specific results of this study are limited to the case company, but can hopefully contribute to further research on ascertaining cost of implementing “green issues” in manufacturing. The proposed cost calculation model can be efficiently applied in any manufacturing firm on the basis of accessibility of real cost data. This necessitates a comprehensive cost database. At the development of the model and database management system, time and cost resources could be demanding, but once installed, use of the model becomes less demanding.
Practical implications
The cost model provides cost justifications of implementing green manufacturing. The reality is that green manufacturing will see its development peak with cost justifications. The results of the application show that the proposed detailed cost model can be effective in ascertaining costs of implementing green manufacturing. Manufacturing firms are recommended to adopt energy-saving activities based on the proposed detailed cost calculation model.
Originality/value
The main contributions of the study includes: first, to help engineering managers more accurately understand how to allocate resources for energy-saving activities through appropriate cost drivers. Second, to simulate with SD the dynamic behavior of few important metrics, often ignored in traditional mathematical modeling. The detailed model provides a pre-manufacturing decision-making tool which will assist management in implementing green manufacturing by incorporating a life cycle assessment measurement into manufacturing cost management.
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Contemporary literature reveals that, to date, the poultry livestock sector has not received sufficient research attention. This particular industry suffers from unstructured…
Abstract
Contemporary literature reveals that, to date, the poultry livestock sector has not received sufficient research attention. This particular industry suffers from unstructured supply chain practices, lack of awareness of the implications of the sustainability concept and failure to recycle poultry wastes. The current research thus attempts to develop an integrated supply chain model in the context of poultry industry in Bangladesh. The study considers both sustainability and supply chain issues in order to incorporate them in the poultry supply chain. By placing the forward and reverse supply chains in a single framework, existing problems can be resolved to gain economic, social and environmental benefits, which will be more sustainable than the present practices.
The theoretical underpinning of this research is ‘sustainability’ and the ‘supply chain processes’ in order to examine possible improvements in the poultry production process along with waste management. The research adopts the positivist paradigm and ‘design science’ methods with the support of system dynamics (SD) and the case study methods. Initially, a mental model is developed followed by the causal loop diagram based on in-depth interviews, focus group discussions and observation techniques. The causal model helps to understand the linkages between the associated variables for each issue. Finally, the causal loop diagram is transformed into a stock and flow (quantitative) model, which is a prerequisite for SD-based simulation modelling. A decision support system (DSS) is then developed to analyse the complex decision-making process along the supply chains.
The findings reveal that integration of the supply chain can bring economic, social and environmental sustainability along with a structured production process. It is also observed that the poultry industry can apply the model outcomes in the real-life practices with minor adjustments. This present research has both theoretical and practical implications. The proposed model’s unique characteristics in mitigating the existing problems are supported by the sustainability and supply chain theories. As for practical implications, the poultry industry in Bangladesh can follow the proposed supply chain structure (as par the research model) and test various policies via simulation prior to its application. Positive outcomes of the simulation study may provide enough confidence to implement the desired changes within the industry and their supply chain networks.
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Edilberto J. Rodríguez Rivero and Jan Emblemsvåg
The aim of the paper is to present and illustrate a new approach for long‐range planning.
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of the paper is to present and illustrate a new approach for long‐range planning.
Design/methodology/approach
Building on well‐tested frameworks such as activity‐based costing (ABC), life‐cycle costing (LCC) and Monte Carlo methods as well as earlier case studies, an approach is developed further and tested using a real‐life case.
Findings
The effectiveness of the approach is confirmed using a process‐oriented framework (ABC) and introducing an LCC perspective. Monte Carlo methods are used to handle uncertainty and identify risks and critical success factors.
Research limitation/implications
The presented research is a starting‐point for developing a simple approach for budgeting that overcomes many of the problems with traditional budgeting.
Practical implications
The paper shows how long‐range planning can be performed in a realistic fashion without ending up in many of the traps of traditional budgeting.
Originality/value
The paper presents an approach that can help corporations anticipate the future much more realistically than before.
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