Description
This paper examines how the group dynamics of activity based costing (ABC) development teams and the level of
organizational resources devoted to model development affect model complexity and development time. A theoretical
framework is developed based on the organizational literature on teams. The framework is tested using objective data
from 18 ABC projects in two automobile manufacturing firms and survey data from ABC team members. Results show
that ABC team cohesion is the key determinant of the time it takes to develop the first ABC model. Further, ABC
models become more complex in the presence of an external consultant and as the level of competition increases.
doc_358854136.pdf
This paper examines how the group dynamics of activity based costing (ABC) development teams and the level of
organizational resources devoted to model development affect model complexity and development time. A theoretical
framework is developed based on the organizational literature on teams. The framework is tested using objective data
from 18 ABC projects in two automobile manufacturing firms and survey data from ABC team members. Results show
that ABC team cohesion is the key determinant of the time it takes to develop the first ABC model. Further, ABC
models become more complex in the presence of an external consultant and as the level of competition increases.
doc_358854136.pdf