بررسی تفاوت های بین المللی در تصویب و توسعه تئوری هزینه یابی مبتنی بر فعالیت

This paper examines the theory development and implementation of activity-based costing (ABC) in an international managerial accounting context. More specifically, each phase of ABC theory development and various aspects of ABC implementation are evaluated based on a critical review of ABC research that has been published thus far using an international perspective. This is intended to synthesize the ABC theory development and implementation delineating any international differences that potentially exist. There have been notable differences in the rates of ABC adoption in different countries in the early days of ABC dissemination. U.K., Australian, and Scandinavian firms followed adoption ofABC in the U.S. in its early days without too much gap in the implementation time frame. A global perspective, however, was so evident in the diffusion of ABC in different countries. The paper analyzes why there have been very little international differences in the ABC theory development.

This paper examines the theory development and implementation of activity- based costing (ABC) in an international managerial accounting context. More specifically, each phase of ABC theory development and various aspects of ABC implementation are evaluated based on a critical review of ABC research that has been published thus far using an international perspective. This is intended to synthesize the ABC theory development and implementation delineating any international differences that potentially exist. The focus will be on the two issues: (1) how much international differences exist in the ABC theory development; and (2) how much differences exist in the implementation of ABC from the international perspective

There have been notable differences in the rates of ABC adoption in different countries in the early days of ABC dissemination. Based on the surveys reviewed in this paper, it is safe to say that U.K., Australian, and Scandinavian firms followed the ABC adoption in U.S. in its early days without too much gap in the implementation time frame. A global perspective, however, was so evident in the diffusion of ABC in different countries. There was no significant difference in the adoption rates among the firms in the U.S. and the Netherlands. The industry-specific characteristics were more pronounced than international differences in the adoption of ABC. It is interesting to note that, in the Netherlands, academics and practitioners were questioning the usefulness and innovative value of ABC. Dutch companies were a lot more concerned with the outright reduction of overhead costs as the major use for ABC. A different aspect of who needs an ABC system was observed in a field study of a Japanese automaker that did not see a need for an ABC at the time. The manufacturer's requirement for managerial accounting information did not extend to an explicit estimate of the expense amounts managers were expected to eliminate. The company focused on reducing variation and lead-time, and the costs decreased accordingly. This plus the low fixed cost ratio helped the automaker manage its overhead costs successfully. The company could see very clearly which fixed and variable resources were dedicated to which process at any given time. The "big blob of fixed costs" which cannot easily be attributed to a specific process or product and which usually give companies the reason for ABC adoption simply did not exist there.The global homogenization in management accounting practices explains why there have been very little international differences in the ABC theory development. U.K. managers had few reservations about ABC, although there were some problems identifying cost drivers, and demand for ABC-based information was so great that it could not always be satisfied. ABC adoption led U.K.companies to make adjustments to authority and power bases, and to provide new credence to accountants and the accounting information. No clear international differences have emerged regarding the degree of heterogeneity, the cost-activity relationships, and ABC as a system choice. The absence of any controversy on cost-activity relationships in one international context has been attributed to the relative insignificance of fixed costs in the Japanese manufacturing industry. Pioneers of the ABC theory development worked with client organizations all over the world to enhance and test an emerging theory called ABC that has been suggested to improve organizational performance. Modified and extended as the emerging theory based on knowledge gained through experience in companies all over the world, the ABC has become the product of global research efforts. Imitating others typically has been an effective strategy for social conduct, and companies copy publicly known models of operation from successful companies. Since ABC has gained the image of being up-to-date and strategically resourceful, practically all executives would like to say that they apply these ideas. The diffusion of ABC follows a trajectory corresponding to diffusion patterns of most other managerial innovations. Considering the homogenized world of ABC practices, future research on ABC should address issues of a general nature that can be studied empirically and can help the accounting world formalize theories about it.