The impact of contextual factors on costing system design: The moderating role of facilitator factors

Abstract

Achieving optimal performance is partially conditioned by aligning the costing system design (CSD) with the context’s requirements. Research on the relationship between the context and CSD has produced inconsistent results, which has prompted research on the moderating role of various factors in this relationship. An omission by this research is the moderating impact of factors that play a facilitating role in obtaining the intended CSD. Hence, this research employs the contingency theory to investigate the moderating impact of various facilitators, including top management support (TMS), organizational culture, and the availability of resources to invest in the costing system, on the relationship between the context and CSD. This research utilizes a questionnaire survey to gather data from Saudi manufacturing businesses and analyzes the data using a moderated regression analysis (MRA). The results did not support the moderating influence of facilitator factors, which may be related to the characteristics of the Saudi context and/or the measures adopted. However, the results revealed interesting findings regarding the direct effects of facilitator and contextual factors on CSD. This research provides manufacturing industry practitioners with important insights regarding the facilitating role of multiple factors in the design and implementation of costing systems that are compatible with the context.