the role of innovation in adapting target costing systems: a quantitative analysis in iran petrochemical industry

This paper, aims to use contingency theory to analyze the relationships between innovation and environmental and organizational determinants of target costing adoption (tca) and target costing use (tc). so, the determinants and perceived consequences of using different strategic cost management tools and their relationships with innovation, environment and organization in a petrochemical industry are examined. this research is descriptive in terms of method and applied in terms of objective. the required data were collected using a standard questionnaire from 78 experts in iran petrochemical industry, including executive managers and industry experts, during 2021. this paper contributes to the complexity theory by using the multivariate regression and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsqca) methods. the analysis extends the literatue by illustrating that previously studied determinants (competitiveness, environment, uncertainty, and innovation) are neither sufficient nor necessary factors. the multiple configurations also illustrated the effect of economic group specifications (and its pressures) and focus on production cost control rather than product development costs. the results indicate that, the petrochemical companies, which plan to develop new services or products, need access to technology and full concentration on market (pricing) in order to take full advantage of target costing.