Cost variability and cost behaviour in manufacturing enterprises

Abstract

The paper is focused to the variability of costs, cost behaviour and discusses the issues of sticky costs. The main goal of this paper is to analyze the issue of the author´s project targeted at the topic of cost behaviour and its projection to the costing systems and confront it with the current state of knowledge in the field. Special attention is paid to the phenomenon of the sticky cost It highlights the importance of this topic at this time of adverse economic developments. The first part of the paper analyzes the general historical changes in the enterprise’s cost structures. There is also analyzed the cost behaviour and variability of costs due to the standard view of company performance. Attention is also paid to current view on the issue of costing systems and costing methods. In the second part there are presented findings of completed surveys as proof of the relevance of this issue. From the researches it was found that in recent years there has been a rise in the share of indirect costs up to 40% (till 2009), while almost half of the companies shows steady growth in the portion of these costs. Discussion then follows of this section, in which special attention is paid to area of sticky costs. The author further provides additional research hypotheses and research questions which underlines the need for further exploration of this issue. © 2014, Centre of Sociological Research. All rights reserved.