Activity-based costing (ABC) as management innovation is acknowledged by both scientific research and practitioners. Despite its advantages, its diffusion among companies is still considerably low. This dissertation investigates the factors that influence the diffusion of ABC, to analyze what have discouraged firms from adopting ABC. Using Rogers' framework of innovation attributes a conceptual model for ABC diffusion is derived and empirically evaluated being based on data from 139 German manufacturing firms, representing one of the biggest studies with regard to ABC research in Germany.