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Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems that are equipped with numerous features and functionalities help to improve the profitability of construction corporations around the world through enhancing the efficiency of the functions related to cost management. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate the applicability of ERP systems for cost management of building construction projects in Sri Lanka.

A qualitative technique was used in this study, which comprised two-round Delphi-based semistructured interviews. Purposive sampling was used to determine the interviewees. Content analysis was used to evaluate the collected data.

The findings of this study identified the ERP system as a strategic tool for gaining a competitive advantage for an organization while confirming 14 uses of ERP systems and 16 stages of the cost management process. Eighteen issues were finalized at the end of the interview rounds while categorizing the suitable ERP applications at each stage of the cost management process.

Even though there are numerous distinct studies conducted on cost management and ERP systems, there has been a lack of studies conducted on the synergy between these two areas that can be adapted for the building projects in the Sri Lankan context. Therefore, the findings of this study can bring a new paradigm to the Sri Lankan construction sector by influencing the adaption of correct ERP systems at numerous project stages by providing a competitive edge.

The study was designed to examine specific issues relating to the usage and perceived success of activity‐based and traditional costing systems. Data were collected from management accountants operating at senior management level in large companies in manufacturing, financial services and other non‐manufacturing sectors.

This paper reports the results of a study on the implementation of an activity‐based costing (ABC) system in an Australian oil and gas company. The findings suggest that the three most important objectives of implementing an ABC system were: (1) more effective cost management, (2) better cost control, and (3) more accurate costing information. The results reveal that lack of understanding of the ABC methodology was the most important factor that impeded the implementation of the ABC system. The results further suggest that the three most important factors that contributed to the success of the ABC implementation process were: (1) project team were well organized and advised, (2) there were good information flows between users and preparers, and (3) there were sufficient resources provided. Overall, the results of this study are similar to those studies conducted in the manufacturing sectors.

The purpose of this paper is to show that local management control systems within supply chain organisations and the governance of supply chains are intertwined and that local control systems and governance structure have an important effect on the functioning of the supply chain.

The paper reports on a case study of a supply chain and examines how local management control systems within the participating organisations affect cooperation between the organisations in the supply chain. In the case study, a supply chain, including eight food manufacturers, two logistic service providers, and two retailers, is investigated.

The behaviour of several entities in the chain is explained by examining the present local management control systems. The main conclusion is that these systems call for behaviour that is not congruent with the broad supply chain objective.

The research is based on a case study in one supply chain that has mainly a cost‐minimisation objective. Further in‐depth studies could be undertaken in supply chains with other objectives to further validate the findings.

The paper demonstrates that the local management control systems may hinder the achievement of the supply chain objective. Possible design implications for both local management control systems and governance structures in the supply chain are outlined.

The paper focuses on local information sharing concerns and on local performance measurement and incentive issues at the intra‐organisational level but within a supply chain context.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how a substantial organization gradually builds a management accounting system from scratch, changing its accounting routines by learning processes. The paper uses the experiential learning theory and the concept of learning style to investigate the learning process during management accounting change. The study aims to expand the domain of management accounting change theory to emphasize the learning-related aspects that can constitute it.

The paper provides an interpretation of management accounting change based on the model of problem management proposed by Kolb (1983) and the theory of experiential learning (Kolb, 1976, 1984). The study is based on a 14-year longitudinal case study (1994‐2007). The case examined can be considered a theory illustration case. Data were obtained from a broad variety of sources including interviews, document analysis and adopting an interventionist approach during the redesign of the costing system.

The paper contributes to two important aspects of management accounting change. First, it becomes apparent that the costing information change was not a discrete event but a process of experience and learning conducted through several iterations of trial-and-error loops that extended over the years. Second, the findings reveal that the learning process can alter management accounting system design in a radical or incremental way according to the learning style of the people involved in the process of change.

Because of the adopted research approach, results could be extended only to other organizations presenting similar characteristics. Several further areas of research are suggested by the findings of this paper. In particular, it would be of interest to investigate the links between learning styles and communication and its effect on management accounting change.

The paper includes implications for the management of learning during management accounting change, to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of this process.

This paper is one response to the call for an interdisciplinary research approach to the management accounting change phenomena using a “method theory” taken from the discipline of management to provide an explanation of the change in management accounting. In respect of the previous literature, it provides two main contributions, namely, the proposal of a model useful both to interpret and manage learning processes; the effect of learning style on management accounting routines change.

The objective of the research, and paper, is to determine first whether or not the accounting abstraction appears to dominate the manager’s perceptions of the physical reality of the firm’s utilization of its physical assets, and second, whether changes in the accounting abstraction (e.g. the addition of Capacity cost management reports and measurements) lead to changes in how managers perceive, and use, their physical assets. Using a cognitive decision-making structure developed by Wagenaar et al. (1995), this study explores the interplay between the structure and nature of capacity reporting (the surface structure of the decision) and the subsequent analysis and choice of managers within the firm (the deep structure of the decision). A five-site field research methodology was used to gather data from companies across a multitude of industry contexts and situations. Results suggest that the nature of capacity measurement and reporting does shape manager’s perceptions of current and potential future performance (the cognitive surface structure), with major implications for the nature and type of decisions and trade-offs made (the deep structure). Specifically, managers appear to make decisions that are illogical when considered in light of the physical reality of their operations based on the representations of this reality (e.g. the capacity measures and reports). Analysis and interpretation of these results suggest that what accounting makes visible appears to drive decision-making and performance in organization.

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).

This structured literature search covers papers published in 23 journals in IOM in the period 1990–2014.

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.

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.

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.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to assess the main and interaction effects of activity-based costing (ABC), internal information systems integration (IISI), and external information systems integration (EISI) on manufacturing plant operational performance, controlling for plant characteristics.

Methodology/approach: The study uses survey data from a cross-section of 369 U.S. manufacturing plants. Data were analyzed using hierarchical regression model.

Findings and implications: The results indicate partial support for the main and two-way interaction effects on plant operational performance. The three-way interaction effects are significant and positive, suggesting that deploying all three resources (i.e., ABC, IISI, and EISI) leads to the higher plant operational performance.

Originality/value: The paper significantly extends prior research and contributes to the understanding of the main and interaction effects of ABC, IISI, and EISI on manufacturing plant operational performance. The paper would also be of interest to practitioners interested in keeping up with academic literature.

Purpose – To analyze the diffusion of management accounting tools in Italian manufacturing firms and the impact of contingency factors with a particular focus on internationalization.

Design/methodology/approach – This study is based on a qualitative statistical analysis and two quantitative data analyses focusing on the effects of contingency factors. In particular, 274 questionnaires were analyzed. A questionnaire-based e-mail survey was used to collect data.

Findings – The results confirm positive relationships between management accounting systems and traditional contingency factors such as company size, organizational structure, and operational complexity. In addition, a positive correlation was found between the internationalization and implementation of activity-based costing and target costing.

Research limitations/implications – In the context of internationalization, this exploratory study considers only the impact of foreign customers. Further research could include other factors such as foreign suppliers, joint ventures, and technological exchanges.

Originality/value of paper – This paper contributes to the analysis of the impact of internationalization, a contingency variable not yet fully investigated in management accounting system research.