Rigby, JohnKobussen, GlenKalagnanam, SureshCannon, Robert2021-04-062021-04-062021-01-12Rigby, J., Kobussen, G., Kalagnanam, S. and Cannon, R. (2021), "Implementing responsibility centre management in a higher educational institution", International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPPM-05-2020-02181741-0401https://hdl.handle.net/10388/13312Emerald allows authors to deposit their AAM under the Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial International Licence 4.0 (CC BY-NC 4.0). To do this, the deposit must clearly state that the AAM is deposited under this licence and that any reuse is allowed in accordance with the terms outlined by the licence. To reuse the AAM for commercial purposes, permission should be sought by contacting permissions@emeraldinsight.com. For the sake of clarity, commercial usage would be considered as, but not limited to: o Copying or downloading AAMs for further distribution for a fee; o Any use of the AAM in conjunction with advertising; o Any use of the AAM by for promotional purposes by for-profit organisations; o Any use that would confer monetary reward, commercial gain or commercial exploitation. Emerald appreciates that some authors may not wish to use the CC BY-NC licence; in this case, you should deposit the AAM and include the copyright line of the published article. Should you have any questions about our licensing policies, please contact permissions@emeraldinsight.com.The purpose of this study is to examine the design, development, and implementation of responsibility centre management at a mid-sized Canadian university, within the context of decentralized decision making. More specifically our study focused on the design, development and implementation of a revenue and cost allocation process known as transparent activity-based budgeting system (TABBS). The authors conducted this study using a qualitative case study methodology, rooted in grounded theory, as the primary approach to collect and analyze data, and report the findings. Primary data was collected from ten participants using semi-structured interviews. The main takeaways from our research are that (1) such systems take time to design, develop and implement, (2) consultation, communication and information sharing, and model adjustment and refinement are important enabling mechanisms, (3) internal and external events posed significant challenges, (4) although such systems are often designed keeping in mind several intended outcomes there exists the possibility of experiencing some unintended consequences, and (5) the juxtaposition of the above has the potential to negatively or positively impact organizational performance. The research demonstrates that the design, development, and implementation of a complex resource allocation model is an important element of a responsibility centered approach to planning and decision making. It highlights the importance and contribution of enabling mechanisms as well as the challenges that large, complex organizations may confront when introducing change.enResponsibility centre managementManagement control systemsResource allocationBudgetingHigher educational institutionPreprint