Activity-Based Costing in the 4IR Era: A Bibliometric Review of 56 Scopus Publications (2020-2025)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51137/wrp.ijarbm.876Keywords:
Activity-Based Costing (ABC), Bibliometric Analysis, 4IR Technologies, Smart Manufacturing, Management Accounting.Abstract
Activity-Based costing (ABC) is a 20th-century management accounting innovation that assists with accurate allocation of costs to cost objects. Despite the usefulness of this costing method, a low adoption rate has been reported by previous scholars, which is paradoxical. The ABC trends under the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) environment have not been thoroughly investigated. This study aims to examine the latest publication trends in ABC literature and identify the most influential authors, organisations, sources, and continents. To achieve this, 56 papers published between 2020 and 2025 were extracted from the Scopus database following the PRISMA protocol and reviewed using a bibliometric approach through Biblioshiny and VosViewer software. The study reveals a modest decline in publications. Europe is the most influential continent in the ABC literature, and concepts associated with the 4IR environment are included in the literature. The study provides insights to users of ABC, including managers and policymakers, on influential universities, authors, and sources. It also identifies research gaps in terms of continents, universities, sources, methodologies, and focus areas.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Celumusa M. Chonco, Wedzerai S. Musvoto (Author)
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