Business as Usual? An Institutional View of the Relationship between Management Control Systems and Strategy

Financial Accountability & Management, Forthcoming

Posted: 20 May 2013

See all articles by Basil P. Tucker

Basil P. Tucker

University of South Australia

Lee Parker

Independent

Date Written: May 19, 2013

Abstract

The relationship between management control systems (MCS) and strategy has received considerable attention in the management control literature. Contingency-based approaches, however, have traditionally dominated this research, with limited attention devoted specifically to how MCS and strategy may combine in organizations operating within highly institutionalized environments. Adopting an institutional perspective, the current study is based on interviews with CEOs and senior executives in 32 Australian Not-for-Profit organizations. Our findings indicate a tendency for these organisations to decouple informal control from MCS, producing a "business as usual" mentality via the pervasive informal approach to control, supplanting contingency-based predictions relating to MCS-strategy relations.

Keywords: management control, strategic typologies, Not-for-Profit

JEL Classification: M4

Suggested Citation

Tucker, Basil P. and Parker, Lee, Business as Usual? An Institutional View of the Relationship between Management Control Systems and Strategy (May 19, 2013). Financial Accountability & Management, Forthcoming, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2267217

Basil P. Tucker (Contact Author)

University of South Australia ( email )

37-44 North Terrace
Adelaide SA 5000, South Australia 5001
Australia

Lee Parker

Independent

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