Operation of Management Control Practices as a Package - A Case Study on Control System Variety in a Growth Firm Context

Abstract

This empirical case study examines the operation of management control practices as a package in a growth firm context by paying particular attention to the couplings between cultural, personnel, action and results controls. The analysis focuses on two different management control packages in the face of similar contingencies at different points of time. The paper argues that the functionality of a control package depends on internal consistency, specifically on the reciprocal linkages of design and use between a primary mode of control and other control elements. Moreover, it argues that control package variety is driven by the way in which the management responds to functional demands. The alternative control packages are considered equifinal to the extent of limited operational complexity, whereas an accounting-centric control package is sufficient also in the face of increasing levels of operational complexity.

Keywords: management control package, control system variety, internal consistency, functional demands, equifinality, growth firm

JEL Classification: M40, M49, G34, Z10