Implementing Management Innovations Lessons Learned From Activity Based Costing in the U.S. Automobile Industry

Implementing Management Innovations: Lessons Learned from Activity Based Costing in the U.S. Automobile Industry is the result of a long-term study of the implementation of activity based costing (ABC) inside two of America's largest automobile companies. The research advances our theoretical and practical understanding of the implementation of management innovations by tracing the evolution of ABC from the corporate level down to its eventual rollout at the plants. Another distinguishing feature of the study is the blend of field research methods and hypothesis testing to determine the factors that led to implementation success for managers and ABC development teams. Many of the findings of the study have implications for the implementation of other types of management innovations.

1: Introduction and Overview.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Background for the Study.- 3. Key Findings.- Appendix 1: The Design of the Research Program.- 2: What We Know (and Don’t Know) about ABC Implementation.- 1. The Genesis of Activity Based Costing.- 2. What We Know About ABC Implementation.- 3. What We Don’t Know About ABC Implementation.- 3: The Emergence of Corporate ABC Initiatives: Towards A Model of ABC Implementation.- 1. Overview.- 2. General Motors’ Adoption of ABC.- 3. General Motors’ Deployment of ABC.- 4. Chrysler’s Adoption of ABC.- 5. Chrysler’s Deployment of ABC.- 6. A Model of ABC Implementation.- 4: Influences on, and Characteristics of, the ABC Development Teams.- 1. Overview.- 2. Becoming a Team Member.- 3. Characteristics of ABC Development Teams.- 4. Profiling the ABC Development Teams.- 5. Managerial Implications for Team Design.- 5: Factors Influencing the Performance of ABC Teams.- 1. Overview.- 2. The Model and Research Expectations.- 3. Variable Measurement.- 4. Results.- 5. Summary.- 6: Evaluating ABC Projects: Sponsors, Gatekeepers, Enablers, and Impediments.- 1. Overview.- 2. Determinants of ABC Project Outcomes.- 3. Identification and Measurement of Variables.- 4. Data Analysis.- 5. Results.- 6. Summary.- 7: Goals of ABC Implementation and Means of Attainment.- 1. Overview.- 2. Research Question.- 3. Goals for ABC Projects as the Basis for Evaluating Project Outcomes.- 4. Summary.- 8: What Have We Learned?.- 9: Where are They Now? Reflections on the Past Five Years.- 1. Overview.- 2. General Motors Corporation: The Form and Substance of ABC in 2001.- 3. Chrysler Group of Daimler-Chrysler AG: The Form and Substance of ABC in 2001.- 4. Common Themes, Uncommon Challenges.- Appendix 2: Survey of Activity Based Costing Implementation.-Appendix 3: Management Survey of Activity Based Costing Implementation.- References.

Shannon Anderson is an Associate Professor of Accounting at the Jesse Jones School of Management, Rice University S. Mark Young is the KPMG Foundation Professor Accounting and Professor of Management at the Leventhal School of Accounting, Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California.