A Research on Postgraduate Thesis Studies on Strategic Cost Management Published in the National Area

Abstract

Purpose – The main purpose of this study is to analyze the doctoral and master's thesis studies in which the keyword Strategic Cost Management is used in Turkey. In this context, the other purpose of the study is to contribute to the literature in terms of guiding future research by determining the gaps needed in this field by examining the research subjects, data collection methods, types of businesses and the findings obtained. Design/methodology/approach – In the study, literature review was used as a data collection technique. The obtained findings were then analyzed with the content analysis method. Although there is no year restriction in the scan, the date range of the research covers the period between January 2000 and December 2021. In the research, a total of 34 postgraduate theses, 12 doctoral dissertations and 22 master's theses, in which the keyword Strategic Cost Management in the National Thesis Center database of the Council of Higher Education were used, were identified and all of them were included in the analysis. The findings obtained from the literature review were analyzed and classified according to different criteria such as study subjects, data collection methods, business types, universities, years of publication, and departments. Findings – As a result of the literature review and analyzes, the case study method is generally preferred as the data collection method in postgraduate theses, studies in the production sector are dominant in doctoral theses, and studies are carried out at a close level in both production and service sectors in postgraduate theses and a single approach is examined, it has been determined that the Activity Based Costing approach is preferred in the theses and the Target Costing approach in the master's theses. Discussion – The postgraduate theses in which the keyword Strategic Cost Management is used were examined in terms of research framework and results, and the universities that contributed to this field, the years in which the studies were concentrated, and the preferred working sectors and fields were revealed. In addition, the study subjects, data collection methods and business types in postgraduate theses were determined. It is considered that the content analysis will contribute to the academic studies to be prepared in this field in the following years.