The relationship between product diversity, usage of advanced manufacturing technologies and activity-based costing adoption

This paper examines the associations between product diversity, usage of advanced manufacturing technologies (AMT) and activity-based costing (ABC) adoption. Theory strongly suggests that product diversity is a major determinant of the demand for ABC systems. To date, the results of empirical research on the relationship between product diversity and ABC adoption have generally been inconclusive, however, suggesting that there either may be no strong relationship, or that methodological issues may have prevented researchers from consistently finding it. Using a dataset of survey responses from 191 Dutch, medium-sized manufacturing firms, this paper re-examines the relationship between product diversity and ABC adoption. Improving upon the measurement of product diversity and distinguishing between ABC adoption and use, it examines whether the relationship is curvilinear (inverted U-shaped) and/or moderated by usage of AMT. The paper contributes to the literature by showing that, consistent with the underlying theory, product diversity, on average, is positively related to both ABC adoption and ABC use, but also that these relationships are indeed inverted U-shaped and that the relationship with ABC use is negatively moderated by usage of AMT. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd.