After 30 Years, What Has Happened to Activity-Based Costing? A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

After more than 30 years of using Activity-Based Costing (ABC) to determine costs, just a few studies have analyzed its publications. This article aims to conduct a systematic, comprehensive literature review analyzing papers on ABC to overview what has been researched and give future research directions. The study includes descriptive, relational and content analyses of 1,260 articles retrieved from Scopus over 32 years (1988–2019). Our research shows publication trends, the most influential journals, authors and countries, citations, H-index, authorship, objectives, keywords co-occurrences, and research methods. Moreover, twelve objective categories are proposed. The results show a still-growing interest in ABC, especially in health and manufacturing, where there have been more practical applications. The case study is the most used research methodology, and the United States is the leading country regarding academic productivity and citations. The study provides useful information for professionals and business managers, and academics.

Modeling Emergent Variables to Assess the Adoption of Activity-Based Costing in Tanzania: The Application of Confirmatory Composite Analysis

“…It was Robert Kaplan and William Burns who worked on the concept of ABC system in 1987, and then later involved Robin Cooper in devising the innovation into applications (Berg & Madsen, 2020). The motive behind was to have a costing system that relies on activities in cost assignment, rather than the consuming departments as it used to be done with the traditional costing system (Sanchez-Rebull, Ninerola & Hernandez-Lara, 2023). Another distinctive development fused in ABC was the application of multiple cost drivers, as opposed to traditional system that relied on a single or fewer cost drivers in cost assignment (Latorre, Petruzzelli, Uva, Ranaudo & Semisa, 2021).…”

Production Decision Model for the Cement Industry in Pursuit of Carbon Neutrality: Analysis of the Impact of Carbon Tax and Carbon Credit Costs

“…Many industries now consider not only direct and indirect operational costs but also external costs, including those related to suppliers, environmental protection [27], carbon emissions, and internal carbon pricing [28], to make more precise production decisions. It has been over 30 years since ABC was proposed [29], and ABC has been applied to various industries, non-profitable organizations, and governmental entities [30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37].…”

Optimalisasi Tarif Layanan dengan Memperbaiki dan Meningkatkan Kualitas Pelayanan di Loka Litbangkes Pangandaran

“…Penelitian Sánchez-Rebull et al, (2023) menyimpulkan bahwa selama 30 tahun pemanfaatan ABC System untuk menentukan biaya atau tarif, sektor yang paling banyak menerapkan sistem tersebut adalah sektor kesehatan dan manufaktur. Penelitian Sahputra & Hanum, (2023) mengenai penetapan cost of goods manufactured dengan ABC System menemukan suatu keadaan overcosting pada barang produksi.…”