A Framework for Assessing Cost Management System Changes: The Case of Activity-Based Costing Implementation at General Motors, 1986-1993
Name
Imvp059a.pdf
Size
6.12 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
7f8c903fba19362ffe9534466e6af229
Author(s)
Anderson, Shannon W.
Date Issued
September 10, 2002
Abstract
An opportunity to study the technical and organizational impact of management accounting system changes has emerged with companies' adoption of activity-based costing (ABC). This paper provides a structured account of experimentation with, and adoption and adaptation of ABC in General Motors Corporation, from 1986 to 1993. From this case, the paper develops a framework for evaluating ABC implementation and hypotheses about factors that influence implementation. The search for factors that ABC implementation success is guided by information technology and organizational change literature, as well as anecdotal evidence of factors that influence ABC implementation success. Data is gathered from interviews, archival records, and direct observation and the primary method of analysis is with-in case comparison of data sources. The theory of ABC implementation that emerges is one of an evolutionary sequence of implentation stages that are influenced by socio-technical factors.
Subjects
cost management
General Motors
Persistent DSpace Link