TY  - JOUR
TI  - The impact of society on management control systems
AB  - 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.
DO  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scaman.2017.08.002
SP  - 253
EP  - 266
UR  - http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0956522116303086
PY  - 2017-01-01
JO  - Scandinavian Journal of Management
AU  - Greve, Jan 
AU  - Ax, Christian 
AU  - Bedford, David S. 
AU  - Bednarek, Piotr 
AU  - Brühl, Rolf 
AU  - Dergard, Johan 
AU  - Ditillo, Angelo 
AU  - Dossi, Andrea 
AU  - Gosselin, Maurice 
AU  - Hozee, Sophie 
AU  - Israelson, Poul 
AU  - Janschek, Otto 
AU  - Johanson, Daniel 
AU  - Johansson, Tobias 
AU  - Madsen, Dag Ovind 
AU  - Malmi, Teemu 
AU  - Rohde, Carsten 
AU  - Sandelin, Mikko 
AU  - Strömsten, Torkel 
AU  - Toldblod, Thomas 
AU  - Willert, Jeannette 
ER -