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A Review and Synthesis of “Cost Stickiness” Literature

Mahfuja Malik
School of Management
Boston University
Email: mahfuja@bu.edu

November, 2012

1

A Review and Synthesis of “Cost Stickiness” Literature

Abstract
Traditional cost accounting holds the assumption that cost changes proportionately with activity.
Anderson et al. (2003) show that cost increases more when activity rises than decreases less when activity falls by an equivalent amount, a behavior that they refer to as “cost stickiness”. By following Anderson et al. (2003) researchers investigate the determinants, consequences and different aspects of cost stickiness.
However, some studies raise questions about the validity of the inference made by Anderson et al. (2003).
Over the last few years many authors highlight some new aspects such as earnings forecasts error, agency problem and earnings management that relate to cost stickiness. The objective of this paper is to review and synthesize the growing body of research on cost stickiness. Lack of theoretical support, merely insights provided by the literature and some inconclusive findings suggest that there are ample research opportunities to improve the understanding in this area.

Keywords: Cost stickiness; Asymmetric cost behavior

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1.0 Introduction
The significant role of cost accounting is to analyze the cost of inputs and the value of outputs provided by those inputs. Cost accounting system helps managers to make better decision that leads to cost efficiency and improved profitability. Conventional model of cost accounting assumes that costs are proportional to the cost drivers. Activity based costing posit a simple linear relationship between costs and activity levels. However, some studies investigate the complexity between costs and activities. In contrast to the traditional view, these studies document

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