Target Cost Management (TCM): A Case Study of an Automotive Company

Target Cost Management is well known as the Japanese companies’ competitive tool. Some studies claim that it is very hard to implement it outside Japan. The purpose of this paper is to explore how the TCM is being practiced and what the major factors are that influence TCM in non-Japanese environment. By using a case study approach, this paper compares TCM practices at a Malaysian automotive manufacturer with the previous case studies of Japanese automotive manufacturers. The results found that although the fundamental concept is similar, there are differences in details processes due to the adaptation with the contextual constraints.