Allocations of joint and common costs

Abstract

Although there exists an extensive and growing literature on how firms should and should not allocate costs, this literature has had only a limited impact on cost allocation practices. A possible explanation is that cost allocation proposals have not always captured essential aspects of the settings in which demands for allocations arise. Another explanation relates to this literature's diversity. The varied and sometimes conflicting assumptions, definitions, and methodologies that the alternative approaches employ have made comparisons difficult for managers and researchers alike.

Through a critique and synthesis of the major streams of cost allocation research, this study provides a concise and nontechnical overview. Its critical review of previous studies provides a framework for future research which emphasizes a necessary correspondence between allocation methods and management decisions.