Action research contributes to “theories of management accounting” by bridging the etic domain of researchers and the emic domain of practitioners with theoretically informed interventions. Interventions create changes in practices which are reverse engineered to obtain theoretical implications. Invigorates the flow of management accounting knowledge in the knowledge ecosystem of management accounting, action research has potential to produce theoretically plausible and practically authentic management accounting knowledge.

Action research has not been the mainstream methodology in management accounting research. However, the action research which has influence on practice directly is a significant approach, because the management accounting research is closely associated with the practice. This paper shows how the action research can be made more rigorous research approach. It is necessary for researchers to pay attention to theorizing process by thinking the process of abstract conceptualization, and realize the research with high inner validity by using quantitative research (e.g. the field experimental approach).

The aim of this essay is to share significances, excitements, and difficulties of industry-academia collaborations and action researches along with experiences of my prospective studies. I think that one of the unique significances of industry-academia collaborations and action researches is to achieve following three purposes at the same time: (1)to be appreciated by practitioners, (2)better educations, (3)to hand down reliable records. However, I should mention that they also bring costs and risks for researchers themselves. I hope the Japanese Association of Management Accounting to make systems that researchers do not have costs and risks as themselves and academic papers are accumulated and transmitted.

The purpose of this study is clarification of evolution of MFCA (Material Flow Cost Accounting) through application to companies.

MFCA is a method of environmental management accounting and visualize losses of material and energy. The application of MFCA is reducing losses of material and energy. The Companies using MFCA reduce costs of material and energy, and reduce environmental impacts. The effect of MFCA is large at plant that generate waste product or consumes energy in large quantities.

Research of MFCA in Japan started in 2000, and ten years or more passed. In the meantime, MFCA was applied in many companies, verified the result and has improved. The improvement was made in the field of the accounting theory, the improvement technique, and the activity method of companies. It seems that MFCA has evolved into the more efficient and more effective technique as a result.