An interest in new management accounting techniques has driven the attention of surveys to the technical or theoretical aspects of the new costing models proposed. However, the nonlinear process of the diffusion of innovative techniques as a consequence of the learning process and "fashion effect" has received limited attention in survey-based research. This paper compares the results of two surveys conducted ten years part on a sample of companies located in Italy. The comparison covers a broad range of issues concerning cost information purposes, cost allocation and the implementation of two specific advanced costing techniques (Activity-Based Costing and Target Costing). The paper provides insights for the "accounting change" research agenda in two directions: one concerning demand-side versus supply-side arguments about the accounting change (Ax and Bjørnenak, 2007) and the other on the non-linearity and unsystematic process of accounting change over a long period of time (Burns and Vaivio, 2001).
Keywords: Management accounting innovations, Activity-Based Costing, Target Costing, Product Costing Design, Accounting change research

Lino Cinquini, Paolo Collini, Alessandro Marelli, Andrea Tenucci, Management Accounting Innovations in Italian companies: a comparative research in "MANAGEMENT CONTROL" 1/2011, pp. 11-40, DOI:10.3280/MACO2011-001002