Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

Management Control Systems and Innovation: a levers of control analysis in an innovative company

Management Control Systems and Innovation: a levers of control analysis in an innovative company Building on the growing body of research that has addressed management control systems and innovation, the purpose of this study is to assess the extent and nature of the use of controls in an innovative setting and how they work together unveiling the relationships and tensions amongst the Simons’ levers.Design/methodology/approachThis study resorts to an in-depth and single case study in a company that has both a strong orientation to innovation and stable control practices in place. Evidence was collected from 32 interviews, visits to the company and internal documentation.FindingsAt the case company, it was possible to find the presence of controls according to all the levers of control. Likewise, joint effects of controls used according to interactive and beliefs approaches and diagnostic and boundary controls showed a consistent reinforcement that push the organization in a single direction. Signs of some countervailing reinforcement between these pairs were also detected, creating tensions. This in general shows that innovation can be weighed against the necessity of goal achievement taking place within fields in which the company can exploit the effort developed.Originality/valueThis study documents the collective use of controls in a context in which innovation is needed and how the combination of the levers of control with their inner workings and tensions allow the company to have a corporate environment of innovation that is friendly. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change Emerald Publishing

Management Control Systems and Innovation: a levers of control analysis in an innovative company

Download PDF
21 pages

Loading next page...
 
/lp/emerald-publishing/management-control-systems-and-innovation-a-levers-of-control-analysis-sC4CwPskMc
Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
© Emerald Publishing Limited
ISSN
1832-5912
eISSN
1832-5912
DOI
10.1108/jaoc-09-2020-0137
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Building on the growing body of research that has addressed management control systems and innovation, the purpose of this study is to assess the extent and nature of the use of controls in an innovative setting and how they work together unveiling the relationships and tensions amongst the Simons’ levers.Design/methodology/approachThis study resorts to an in-depth and single case study in a company that has both a strong orientation to innovation and stable control practices in place. Evidence was collected from 32 interviews, visits to the company and internal documentation.FindingsAt the case company, it was possible to find the presence of controls according to all the levers of control. Likewise, joint effects of controls used according to interactive and beliefs approaches and diagnostic and boundary controls showed a consistent reinforcement that push the organization in a single direction. Signs of some countervailing reinforcement between these pairs were also detected, creating tensions. This in general shows that innovation can be weighed against the necessity of goal achievement taking place within fields in which the company can exploit the effort developed.Originality/valueThis study documents the collective use of controls in a context in which innovation is needed and how the combination of the levers of control with their inner workings and tensions allow the company to have a corporate environment of innovation that is friendly.

Journal

Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change – Emerald Publishing

Published: Aug 9, 2022

Keywords: Innovation; Management control systems; Simons’ framework; Case study; Levers of control

References

  • Investing in strategic development: management control of business model and managerial innovations
    Aaltola, P.
  • The roles of management control in a product development setting
    Akroyd, C.; Maguire, W.
  • Levers of control, management innovation and organisational performance
    Baird, K.; Su, S.; Munir, R.
  • Bridging management control systems and innovation: the evolution of the research and possible research directions
    Barros, R.S.; Ferreira, A.M.D.S.D.C.
  • Management control systems across different modes of innovation: implications for firm performance
    Bedford, D.S.
  • Configurations of control in product development
    Bellora-Bienengräber, L.
  • The effects of the interactive use of management control systems on product innovation
    Bisbe, J.; Otley, D.
  • Defining management accounting constructs: a methodological note on the risks of conceptual misspecification
    Bisbe, J.; Batista-Foguet, J.; Chenhall, R.
  • The role of innovation in the evolution of management accounting and its integration into management control
    Chenhall, R.H.; Moers, F.
  • Managing different types of innovation: mutually reinforcing management control systems and the generation of dynamic tension
    Curtis, E.; Sweeney, B.
  • Dealing with uncertainty in knowledge-intensive firms: the role of management control systems as knowledge integration mechanisms
    Ditillo, A.
  • Accounting and new product development: the importance of interactions within social and technical structures
    Feeney, O.; Pierce, B.
  • The design and use of performance management systems: an extended framework for analysis
    Ferreira, A.; Otley, D.
  • A análise da relação entre o Balanced Scorecard e a estratégia: estudo de caso
    Ferreira, A.M.D.S.C.
  • Terminological distinctions of ‘control’: a review of the implications for management control research in the context of innovation
    Fried, A.
  • Management control as a system or a package? Conceptual and empirical issues
    Grabner, I.; Moers, F.
  • Disentangling the role of management control systems for product and process innovation in different contexts
    Guo, B.; Paraskevopoulou, B.; Sánchez, L.S.
  • Innovativeness and accounting practices: an empirical investigation
    Healy, M.; Cleary, P.; Walsh, E.
  • An examination of the relationship between the extent of a flexible culture and the levers of control: the key role of beliefs control
    Heinicke, A.; Guenther, T.W.; Widener, S.K.
  • Management control systems and strategy: a resource-based perspective
    Henri, J.
  • Competitive forces and the levers of control framework in a manufacturing setting: a tale of a multinational subsidiary
    Hoque, Z.; Chia, M.
  • Accounting and strategizing: a case study from new product development
    Jørgensen, B.; Messner, M.
  • The levers of control framework: an exploratory analysis of balance
    Kruis, A.M.; Speklé, R.F.; Widener, S.K.
  • The effects of the interactive use of management control systems on process and organizational innovation
    Lopez-Valeiras, E.; Gonzalez-Sanchez, M.B.; Gomez-Conde, J.
  • Tensions at the intersection of management control and innovation: a literature review
    Lövstâl, E.; Jontoft, A.
  • Achieving contextual ambidexterity in R&D organizations: a management control system approach
    McCarthy, I.P.; Gordon, B.R.
  • Guest editorial
    Major, M.; Suomala, P.; Laine, T.
  • Management control systems as a package – opportunities, challenges and research directions
    Malmi, T.; Brown, D.A.
  • Strategy and control: 25 years of empirical use of Simons’ levers of control framework
    Martyn, P.; Sweeney, B.; Curtis, E.
  • The effect of diagnostic and interactive uses of management control systems and managerial coaching on reflection in teams
    Matsuo, M.; Matsuo, T.
  • Editorial: special issue on innovation and product development
    Moll, J.
  • The role of diagnostic and interactive control uses in innovation
    Müller-Stewens, B.; Widener, S.K.; Möller, K.; Steinmann, J.
  • Creating tensions through a balanced use of management control systems
    Mundy, J.
  • Levers of control, complementariness, tensions and budget use: a case study
    Rathnasekara, K.; Gooneratne, T.
  • The multiplicity of controls and the making of innovation
    Revellino, S.; Mouritsen, J.
  • Project control: an exploratory study of levers of control in the context of managing projects
    Rezania, D.; Baker, R.; Burga, R.
  • Doing case study research
    Scapens, R.W.; Humphrey, C.; Lee, B.
  • Strategic orientation and top management attention to control systems
    Simons, R.
  • Creativity and control: a paradox – evidence from the levers of control framework
    Speklé, R.; Van Elten, H.J.; Widener, S.K.
  • Management control systems: the role of interactive and diagnostic approaches to using controls from an organizational life cycle perspective
    Su, S.; Baird, K.; Schoch, H.
  • The interplay of different levers of control: a case study of introducing a new performance measurement system
    Tuomela, T.
  • How combinations of control elements create tensions and how these can be managed: an embedded case study
    Van der Kolk, B.; van Veen-Dirks, P.M.G.; Bogt, H.J.
  • An empirical analysis of the levers of control framework
    Widener, S.K.
  • Coexistence of innovation and standardization: evidence from the lean environment of business process outsourcing
    Zarzycka, E.; Dobroszek, J.; Lepistö, L.; Moilanen, S.