Journal Screenshot

International Journal of Academic Research in Accounting, Finance and Management Sciences

Open Access Journal

ISSN: 2225-8329

Effective Change Management and Its Role in Facilitating Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing Adoption in Malaysian Private Universities

Dalmie Shahrul Suryati Binti Azmee, Morni Hayati Binti Jaafar Sidik, Haslina Binti Hassan, Nur Fatin Kasbun, Yanti Lumat

http://dx.doi.org/10.6007/IJARAFMS/v16-i4/28869

Open access

This study investigates the role of Effective Change Management (ECM) in facilitating the adoption of Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing (TDABC) in Malaysian private universities. Grounded in Organizational Change Theory and innovation adoption literature, the study conceptualizes ECM as a multidimensional construct comprising leadership support, communication effectiveness, training adequacy, and organizational readiness. Using survey data from 316 decision-makers and finance personnel across private higher education institutions, the study applies Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) to test both direct and mediating relationships. The findings reveal that ECM has a significant positive effect on TDABC adoption and partially mediates the relationship between perceived innovation characteristics and adoption. The results demonstrate that favourable perceptions of TDABC alone are insufficient for implementation unless supported by structured change mechanisms. This study contributes to management accounting and organizational change literature by empirically validating ECM as a strategic enabler of accounting innovation adoption in higher education.

Ahmad, N. H. B., & Al-Hasan, S. (2022). Cost management practices and financial sustainability in private higher education institutions. Asian Journal of Accounting Research, 7(2), 145–160.
Al-Hawari, M., & Nawaz, M. (2024). Leadership commitment and digital readiness as drivers of innovation adoption in universities. Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Governance, 8(1), 1–15.
Alcouffe, S., Berland, N., & Levant, Y. (2008). Actor-networks and the diffusion of management accounting innovations: A comparative study. Management Accounting Research, 19(1), 1–17.
Alsharari, N. M. (2019). Diffusion of accounting innovations in the public sector: Evidence from the United Arab Emirates. Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change, 15(1), 23–47.
Armenakis, A. A., & Harris, S. G. (2009). Reflections: Our journey in organizational change research and practice. Journal of Change Management, 9(2), 127–142.
Azmee, D. S. S. binti, & Ahmad, N. H. B. (2025). Technology Acceptance Model (TAM): The adoption of activity-based costing for private universities in Malaysia. International Journal of Academic Research in Accounting, Finance and Management Sciences, 15(1), 303–320.
Azmee, D. S. S. binti, & Hashim, J. H. binti. (2024). Management accounting change: Perceived characteristics of innovation on the adoption of activity-based costing for private universities in Malaysia using Rogers’ theory. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 14(2), 505–524.
Baird, K., Su, S., & Tung, A. (2019). Organizational culture and the adoption of management control systems in public sector organizations. Accounting & Finance, 59(3), 1741–1770.
Bhasin, M., Kurniawati, E., & Widodo, T. (2022). Resistance to management accounting change: Evidence from service organizations. Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change, 18(4), 589–610.
Borges, M., Alves, P., & Silva, J. (2024). A systematic review of activity-based costing in higher education institutions. International Journal of Educational Management, 38(2), 120–139.
Brierley, J. A. (2021). Adoption of management accounting innovations in universities: The role of organisational context. Management Accounting Research, 50, 100725.
Burns, J., & Baldvinsdottir, G. (2005). An institutional perspective of accountants’ new roles: The interplay of contradictions and praxis. European Accounting Review, 14(4), 725–757.
Burns, J., & Scapens, R. W. (2000). Conceptualizing management accounting change: An institutional framework. Management Accounting Research, 11(1), 3–25.
Chin, W. W., Marcolin, B. L., & Newsted, P. R. (2012). A partial least squares latent variable modeling approach for measuring interaction effects. Information Systems Research, 14(2), 189–217.
Dillman, D. A., Smyth, J. D., & Christian, L. M. (2014). Internet, phone, mail, and mixed-mode surveys: The tailored design method (4th ed.). Wiley.
Everaert, P., Bruggeman, W., Sarens, G., Anderson, S. R., & Levant, Y. (2020). Cost modeling in logistics using time-driven ABC: Experiences from a wholesaler. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, 40(3), 172–191.
Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1), 39–50.
González, R., Quesada, G., & Mora-Monge, C. (2020). The influence of perceived benefits on the adoption of management accounting innovations. Journal of Applied Accounting Research, 21(2), 235–252.
Greenhalgh, T., Wherton, J., Papoutsi, C., Lynch, J., Hughes, G., A’Court, C., Hinder, S., Procter, R., & Shaw, S. (2017). Beyond adoption: A new framework for theorizing and evaluating nonadoption, abandonment, and challenges to the scale-up of health and care technologies. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 19(11), e367.
Hamedani, S. S., Lumat, Y., Xian, L. H., & Teng, T. S. (2024). Digital Transformation and Job Performance: Unveiling Its Impact on Office Workers. International Journal of Business and Technology Management, 6(4), 98-112.
Hair, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C. M., Sarstedt, M., & Danks, N. P. (2024). Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) using SmartPLS 4. SAGE Publications.
Henseler, J., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2015). A new criterion for assessing discriminant validity in variance-based structural equation modeling. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 43(1), 115–135.
Holt, D. T., Armenakis, A. A., Feild, H. S., & Harris, S. G. (2007). Readiness for organizational change: The systematic development of a scale. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 43(2), 232–255.
Husted, K., Michailova, S., & Nielsen, B. B. (2018). Knowledge-sharing hostility and governance mechanisms. Journal of Knowledge Management, 22(1), 124–143.
Kaplan, R. S., & Anderson, S. R. (2007). Time-driven activity-based costing: A simpler and more powerful path to higher profits. Harvard Business School Press.
Kaplan, R. S., & Anderson, S. R. (2019). Why ABC failed and how it may yet succeed. Harvard Business Review, 77(5), 59–68.
Kaplan, R. S., & Anderson, S. R. (2021). The evolution of time-driven activity-based costing. Journal of Cost Management, 35(2), 5–18.
Khalifa, A. A., Abdelrahman, M. A., & Mohamad, M. (2021). Application of time-driven activity-based costing in higher education institutions: Opportunities and challenges. Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change, 17(3), 385–406.
Kissa, B., Omar, N., & Rahman, A. A. (2024). Costing system innovation and performance in education institutions. Journal of Applied Accounting Research, 25(1), 88–105.
Lim, C. L., Tan, H. Y., & Wu, Y. (2025). Cost-management innovation and institutional accountability in Malaysian private universities. Asia-Pacific Journal of Accounting & Finance, 12(1), 1–19.
Lukka, K. (2007). Management accounting change and stability: Loosely coupled rules and routines in action. Management Accounting Research, 18(1), 76–101.
Lumat, Y. (2023). Understanding the digital transformation in smes during the covid-19 pandemic and the effect on their business model. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 13(4), 1-13.
Nunnally, J. C. (1978). Psychometric theory (2nd ed.). McGraw-Hill.
Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Lee, J. Y., & Podsakoff, N. P. (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(5), 879–903.
Rogers, E. M. (2003). Diffusion of innovations (5th ed.). Free Press.
Sarstedt, M., Ringle, C. M., & Hair, J. F. (2017). Partial least squares structural equation modeling. In C. Homburg et al. (Eds.), Handbook of market research (pp. 1–40). Springer.
Shmueli, G., Sarstedt, M., Hair, J. F., Cheah, J. H., Ting, H., & Ringle, C. M. (2019). Predictive model assessment in PLS-SEM: Guidelines for using PLSpredict. European Journal of Marketing, 53(11), 2322–2347.
Todnem, R. (2020). Planned and emergent change: Definitions, differences, and implications for change management. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 33(2), 247–264.
Waweru, N. M., Hoque, Z., & Uliana, E. (2020). Accounting change in public sector organizations: The role of institutional pressures and leadership. Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 69, 102082.
Özcan, Y. A., Köseoglu, M. A., & Karatas, M. (2020). Implementing time-driven activity-based costing in healthcare: Evidence from hospital operations. Health Services Management Review, 33(4), 311–325.

Azmee, D. S. S. B., Sidik, M. H. B. J., Hassan, H. binti, Kasbun, N. F., & Lumat, Y. (2026). Effective Change Management and Its Role in Facilitating Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing Adoption in Malaysian Private Universities. International Journal of Academic Research in Accounting, Finance and Management Sciences, 16(4), 52–70.