Implementing New Knowledge: The Case of Activity-Based Costing.

This article discusses the implementation of new ideas and practices for managing organizations. First, the technical theory must be demonstrably valid. Its internal consistency and external validity should be established. Then, two additional processes must occur. An Education and Sponsorship process enables change advocates to explore and articulate the technical merits of the new proposal, and gain senior management support for acting in accordance wit the articulated ideas. A second process, Create Internal Commitment, may be required to overcome the barriers to change from the defensive routines that participants trigger to protect themselves from experiencing embarrassment and threat from the new ideas and to take effective action based on their implications. The necessary requirements that a new technical theory should possess if it is to provide a sound basis for managerial action is described.