Target costing, product innovation, and information systems

What is it about?

The role of management control practices in product innovation is a subject that has received great attention in management control literature. This research explores the relationship between target costing (TC) functionality, the quality of information systems (IS) and product innovation. We conducted an empirical study in 108 large industrial enterprises, which have research and development departments. The results show that there is a positive relationship between TC functionality and product innovation in terms of product newness and innovation rate. A direct effect of the quality of IS information on product innovation was not established but rather it was found that the positive association between the functionality of TC and product innovation is stronger in firms that provide IS information of higher quality as compared to firms that provide IS information of lower quality.

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Why is it important?

This study explores the relation between innovation and management control via target costing. It finds that information systems have an indirect effect on product innovation via target costing.