The impact of society on management control systems. Issue 4 (December 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Greve, Jan; Ax, Christian; Bedford, David S.; Bednarek, Piotr; Brühl, Rolf; Dergård, Johan; Ditillo, Angelo; Dossi, Andrea; Gosselin, Maurice; Hoozée, Sophie; Israelsen, Poul; Janschek, Otto; Johanson, Daniel; Johansson, Tobias; Madsen, Dag Øivind; Malmi, Teemu; Rohde, Carsten; Sandelin, Mikko; Strömsten, Torkel; Toldbod, Thomas; Willert, Jeanette
• Is Part Of: Scandinavian journal of management. Volume 33:Issue 4(2017)
• Page Start: 253
• Page End: 266
• Publication Date: 2017-12
• Subjects: Societal institutions -- Business systems -- Contingency framework -- Bureaucratic control -- Output control; Industrial management -- Periodicals; Industrial management -- Scandinavia -- Periodicals; Gestion d'entreprise -- Périodiques; Gestion d'entreprise -- Scandinavie -- Périodiques; 658
• DOI: 10.1016/j.scaman.2017.08.002
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0956-5221

Abstract

Highlights: Management control systems in Anglo-Saxon, Middle European and Northern Europe societies are compared. Control practice do not vary a lot between western societies. Different types of control are effective in different societies. Abstract: The aim of this study is to investigate whether certain configurations of management controls dominate in certain societies (socio-cultural contexts) and whether the effectiveness of a given archetype of management control systems (MCSs) varies depending on the socio-cultural setting—the society—in which it operates. The study focuses on three socio-cultural groups and the corresponding institutional contexts (an Anglo-Saxon group, a Central European group, and a Northern European group) and three MCS archetypes (delegated bureaucratic control, delegated output control, and programmable output control). We use unique data from a cross-national, interview-based survey encompassing 610 strategic business units from nine countries (seven European countries plus Canada and Australia). The idea that firms tend to adapt MCSs to the socio-cultural context does not gain empirical support in this study. No significant differences in the distribution of MCSs between the three socio-cultural groups are noted. However, we do find that programmable output control has a more positive impact on effectiveness in Anglo-Saxon cultures, while delegated output control has a more positive impact on effectiveness in Northern Europe. Taken together these findings indicate that distinct differences between societies make a particular MCS design more appropriate in a given society, but where such differences are not dramatic (as in the present case), multiple MCS designs can be found in the same society.