The paper analyses the experience carried out by the Uniconti Commission in setting rules of uniform costing in Italy during the World War II (WWII). This initiative was promoted by the Italian Fascist government and the Confederazione dell'Industria (Industry Confederation) in 1941. The purpose of the paper is to investigate the process of setting the uniform costing rules and "why" and "how" they were designed, according to a Foucauldian perspective that allows the problematization of accounting as a complex phenomenon, whose emergence and functioning is linked to the context and dependent on the interplay of different influences.Starting from the aims inspired to the totalitarian ideology of the government that promoted the Commission, the analysis is grounded on archival primary sources and provides the perspective of the making of new accounting rules by the interplay among the participants acting in the process. This allows focusing the interaction between the domains of interests and of expectations -political-ideological, technical and economicthat the process of setting the uniform costing system in that context implied. The outcome of the Commission represented a compromise between the stances of the accounting academy, the interests of business representatives, the dominant ideology and the political targets.Thus, the paper provides insightful evidence of the complex interplay between knowledge, techniques, institutions and ideology in setting accounting rules in a totalitarian context, marked by a prevailing role of ideology and state in the regulation of economy.

Purpose This study aims to investigate the contribution of knowledge-intensive business services firms to small- and medium-sized manufacturers’ digital servitization journeys, addressing the standardization versus customization dichotomy of services and solutions provision. Design/methodology/approach To identify the challenges that small- and medium-sized firms must face in the digital servitization journey and the role that knowledge-intensive business services firms may play in the innovation processes, the authors conduct a review on two still unrelated literature streams and develop a longitudinal single-case study, with a particular focus on knowledge generation mechanisms. Findings Digital servitization is a particularly challenging transformational journey for minor firms. Knowledge-intensive business services firms can act as sources, facilitators, and carriers of knowledge, and they can orchestrate further contributions of other external partners and firms. Research limitations/implications The paper contributes to theory describing the roadmap and the role of external service providers in digital servitization journeys of smaller firms’, that are frequently excluded from mainstream research although being the backbone of European economies. Practical implications Digital servitization in minor manufacturing firms requires a long-term orientation and a multi-stage roadmap. Mixing standardized technology-based solutions and complementary professional services, knowledge-intensive business services firms can significantly contribute to lowering the journey’s uncertainties, operational complexity, and costs. Originality/value The paper sheds lights on how the collaboration between knowledge-intensive business services firms and small manufacturers generates novel knowledge and capabilities that contribute to takle the challenges of the different stages of the digital servitization roadmap.

Purpose 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. Design/methodology/approach 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. Findings 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. Research limitations/implications 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. Practical implications The paper includes implications for the management of learning during management accounting change, to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of this process. Originality/value 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.

Structured Abstract:\ud Purpose\ud The aim of this paper is to explore the managing of cost drivers by business model design. Particularly, we explore the link between business model and cost driver analysis when a Service Dominant Logic perspective is adopted. The empirical domain addresses the automotive industry, in particular the dynamic and complex scenario of electric cars, in which many actors are involved and several marketing and technological aspects are still unclear. To date, the wide diffusion of e-cars is delayed by several reasons, one of which is the relatively high cost of batteries. No significant technological improvements are foreseen any time soon to make e-cars economically sustainable for carmakers and end users managing the cost barrier could be a solution for boosting demand. The paper explores whether and how the business model design could be a way to face the problem of high cost of batteries, namely (a) how SDL could support BM design when cost is one of the main barriers for BM viability and (b) how cost driver analysis and BM design are linked when the SDL perspective is adopted.\ud Method\ud This paper analyzes secondary data and findings collected by interviews performed with managers belonging to the automotive sector.\ud Findings\ud The results show that business model design could be a solution to address cost problems and cost driver analysis may play a role in formulating a business model economically sustainable. Splitting a product into a “package of services” can provide direction for research of alternative business model design in the attempt to manage the impact of cost drivers and pursue economic sustainability.\ud Originality\ud This paper explores a topic not yet focussed in cost management research, i.e. the link between business model and cost driver analysis adopting a Service Dominant Logic perspective

The emergence of service science offers new and renewed research interest to management\ud accounting and to performance management. In terms of management accounting,\ud the prospects of cocreation of value and servitisation lead towards analysis objectives that\ud consider the customer to a greater extent. Secondly, the trend of dissociation between investments\ud (costs) and sources of revenues questions the validity of the traditional logic\ud of costing for pricing in the context of service science. In short, problems of cost and\ud revenue allocation emerge between coproducing partners in a service system. In terms of\ud performance management, the development of business models in which the relevance\ud of the service component increases requires reflection on which innovative techniques\ud should be used to measure value, also with a view to establishing incentive systems oriented\ud towards value creation