The role of actor-networks in the diffusion of management accounting innovations: a comparative study of budgetary control, GP method and Activity-Based Costing in France

Simon Alcouffe (1) , Nicolas Berland (2) , Yves Levant (3)

1 EM - EMLyon Business School
2 DRM - Dauphine Recherches en Management
3 Gremco

This research is concerned with the diffusion of management accounting innovations viewed as a process of actor-network building and translation. The aim is to better understand the nature of accounting change. Using Actor-Network Theory (ANT), we analyze two innovations that have had different fates in France. These innovations are the Georges Perrin method (GPM) and Activity-Based Costing (ABC). We are particularly concerned with the dynamic of actor-networks throughout the diffusion processes of these innovations. We show how problematization, interessement, enrolment and mobilization take many, and often very surprising, forms for diffusion to occur.

Mots clés: Innovation; Actor-Network Theory; Diffusion; Translation; ABC; GP method

Domaines: Gestion et management

Simon Alcouffe, Nicolas Berland, Yves Levant. The role of actor-networks in the diffusion of management accounting innovations: a comparative study of budgetary control, GP method and Activity-Based Costing in France. Management Accounting Research, 2008, 19, pp.1-17. ⟨halshs-00340186⟩