Cost Control Practices in SMEs through a Sociomateriality Perspective: A Qualitative Case Study of Avorea
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.65310/2qh9s442Keywords:
Case Study, Cost Control, Management Accounting, SMEs, Sociomateriality.Abstract
This study examined how cost control practices at Avorea, a beverage micro, small, and medium-sized enterprise, were constituted through the entanglement of social and material elements in everyday operations. An interpretive qualitative case-study design was employed, drawing on sociomateriality and Karen Barad's agential realism as the analytical foundation. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with the owner and two employees and analyzed using interpretive thematic analysis. The findings identified three interconnected dimensions of cost control: recipe standardization and material consumption, inventory materiality and employee knowledge, and digital–material entanglement in operational decision-making. Standardized recipes regulated ingredient quantities, maintained product consistency, and supported cost-of-goods-sold calculations. Physical inventory inspections revealed discrepancies between recorded quantities and actual material usability, particularly for perishable ingredients. Point-of-sale applications and Google Sheets facilitated transaction recording, expenditure monitoring, and margin evaluation, while employee experience and operational communication informed purchasing and inventory decisions. These findings indicate that accounting information requires continuous interpretation through material conditions and human activities. The study contributes to management accounting literature by conceptualizing SME cost control as a situated sociomaterial practice rather than an exclusively technical accounting function, emphasizing the interdependence of digital systems, operational knowledge, and physical resources in organizational control processes.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Rabiatul Adawiah, Faradillah Sandi, Ingrid Syahlila Amin, Alimuddin Alimuddin, Asri Usman (Author)
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