Configuration of Management Control Systems as a Package: A Systemic Approach
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17524/repec.v19.e3778Keywords:
Sistemas de Controle Gerencial, SCG, Subsistemas, Pacote, ControlesAbstract
Objective: This study aimed to discuss a theoretical framework that contributes to the establishment of analytical controls for management control systems (MCSs).
Method: The research method employed two procedures: first, a literature review, and second, a case study of an MCS model structured around the concept of subsystems.
Results: The first result demonstrates the relevance and contribution of a systems approach to configuring the analytical controls of MCSs. The second presents and discusses a concrete and conceptually robust proposal for MCSs designed from a systems perspective. The third result involves a critical evaluation of Malmi and Brown’s (2008) model in light of the systemic approach.
Contributions: This study offers meaningful contributions to the academic field by adding new knowledge to MCSs research. It also contributes to business practice by presenting conceptual and practical guidelines that support professionals involved in implementing MCSs in organizations.
Translations of this article
References
Arantes, N. (1994). Sistemas de gestão empresarial: conceitos permanentes na administração de empresas válidas. São Paulo: Atlas.
Arantes, N. (2012). Empresas válidas: como elas alcançam resultados superiores ao servirem a sociedade. São Paulo: Évora.
Adler, R. W., Hiromoto, T. & Suzuki, H. (2020). Amoeba management and organizational ambidexterity. Similarities, differences, and implications for organizational fit and success. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, 69(2), 405-427. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPPM-07-2018-0254
Arifin, B., Mulyanah, M., & Martina, F. (2022). Management Control System Package And Entrepreneurial Competency Influence On Business Performance With The Moderating Role Of Business Strategy. Review of Accounting and Taxation, 1(02), 76-92. https://doi.org/10.21070/rat.v1i02.992
Bandhu, D., Mohan, M. M., Nittala, N. A. P., Jadhav, P., Bhadauria, A., & Saxena, K. K. (2024). Theories of motivation: A comprehensive analysis of human behavior drivers. Acta Psychologica, 244, 104177. https://doi.org/0.1016/j.actpsy.2024.104177
Bedford, D. S., & Malmi, T. (2015). Configurations of control: An exploratory analysis. Management Accounting Research, 27, 2-26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mar.2015.04.002
Bedford, D. S., Malmi, T., & Sandelin, M. (2016). Management control effectiveness and strategy: An empirical analysis of packages and systems. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 51, 12-28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aos.2016.04.002
Berg, T., & Madsen, D. Ø. (2020). The evolution of a management control package: a retrospective case study. Journal of Applied Accounting Research, 21(4), 763-781. https://doi.org/10.1108/JAAR-10-2019-0148
Bio, S. R. (1989). Sistemas de informação - Um Enfoque Gerencial, São Paulo: Atlas, 2a. edição.
Bonner, S.E., Sprinkle, G.B. (2002). The effects of monetary incentives on effort and task performance: theories, evidence, and a framework for research. Accounting Organizations and Society, 27 (4/5), 303–345. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0361-3682(01)00052-6
Bresciani, S., Rehman, S. U., Alam, G. M., Ashfaq, K., & Usman, M. (2023). Environmental MCS package, perceived environmental uncertainty and green performance: in green dynamic capabilities and investment in environmental management perspectives. Review of International Business and Strategy, 33(1), 105-126.https://doi.org/ https://doi.org/10.1108/RIBS-01-2022-0005
Catelli, A. (1999). Controladoria: uma abordagem da gestão econômica – GECON, São Paulo: Altas.
De Jong, B. A., Bijlsma-Frankema, K. M., & Cardinal, L. B. (2014). Stronger than the sum of its parts? The performance implications of peer control combinations in teams. Organization Science, 25(6), 1703-1721. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1287/orsc.2014.0926
Demartini, M. C., & Otley, D. (2020). Beyond the system vs. package dualism in Performance Management Systems design: A loose coupling approach. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 86, 101072. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aos.2020.101072
Eason, K. (2014). Afterword: The past, present and future of sociotechnical systems theory. Applied ergonomics, 45(2), 213-220. https://doi.org/ https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apergo.2013.09.017
Einhorn, S., Heinicke, X., & Guenther, T. W. (2021). Management control packages in family businesses: A configurational approach. Journal of Business Economics, 91(4), 433-478. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11573-020-01008-7
Flamholtz, E., Das, T., Tsui, A. (1985). Toward an integrative framework of organizational control. Accounting Organizations and Society,10 (1), 35–50. https://doi.org/ https://doi.org/10.1016/0361-3682(85)90030-3
Frare, A. B., Cruz, A. P. C. D., Lavarda, C. E. F., & Akroyd, C. (2022). Packages of management control systems, entrepreneurial orientation and performance in Brazilian startups. Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change, 18(5), 643-665. https://doi.org/10.1108/JAOC-04-2021-0052
Gerdin, J. (2020). Management control as a system: Integrating and extending theorizing on MC complementarity and institutional logics. Management Accounting Research, 49, 100716. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mar.2020.100716
Grabner, I., & Moers, F. (2013). Management control as a system or a package? Conceptual and empirical issues. Accounting, organizations and society, 38(6-7), 407-419. https://doi.org/ https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aos.2013.09.002
Guerreiro, R. (1989). Modelo conceitual de sistema de informação de gestão econômica: uma contribuição à teoria da comunicação da contabilidade. Tese de Doutorado (Contabilidade), Universidade de São Paulo.
Guerreiro, R., & Souza, R. P. (2015). Um estudo sobre percepções de importância de atividades do processo de gestão e barreiras à implantação do planejamento estratégico. Revista Universo Contábil, 11(1), 88-104. https://doi.org/10.4270/ruc.2015105
Guerreiro, R., Amaral, J. V., Russo P. T., & Mucci, D. M. (2023). Industry 4.0: Features and potential impacts on the internal environment of companies. Advances in Scientific and Applied Accounting, 16(3), 105-117. http://dx.doi.org/10.14392/asaa.2023160305
Hall, R. H., Johnson, N. J., & Haas, J. E. (1967). Organizational size, complexity, and formalization. American Sociological Review, 32(6), 903-912. https://doi.org/10.2307/2092844
Hambrick, D. C., & Mason, P. A. (1984). Upper echelons: The organization as a reflection of its top managers. The Academy of Management Review, 9(2), 193-206. https://doi.org/10.2307/258434
Hiebl, M. R. (2014). Upper echelons theory in management accounting and control research. Journal of Management Control, 24(3), 223-240. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00187-013-0183-1
Hofstede, G. (1981). Management control of public and not-for-profit activities. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 6 (3), 193-211. https://doi.org/10.1016/0361-3682(81)90019-8
Hopper, T. & Hoque, Z. (2006). Triangulation approaches to accounting research. Methodological Issues in Accounting Research: Theories and Methods, 477-486.
Hoque, Z. (2014). 20 years of studies on the balanced scorecard: trends, accomplishments, gaps and opportunities for future research. The British Accounting Review, 46(1), 33-59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bar.2013.10.003
Inamori, K. (2013). Amoeba management: the dynamic management system for rapid market response. New York, CRC Press.
Ittner, C. D., & Larcker, D. F. (2001). Assessing empirical research in managerial accounting: a value-based management perspective. Journal of accounting and economics, 32(1-3), 349-410. https://doi.org//10.1016/S0165-4101(01)00026-X
Kaplan, R. S., & Norton, D. P. (1996). The balanced scorecard: Translating strategy into action. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
Koschmann, M. A. (2016). The communicative accomplishment of collaboration failure. Journal of Communication, 66(3), 409-432. https://doi.org/ https://doi.org/10.1111/jcom.12233
Kreutzer, M., Walter, J., & Cardinal, L. B. (2015). Organizational control as antidote to politics in the pursuit of strategic initiatives. Strategic Management Journal, 36(9), 1317-1337. https://doi.org/ https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.2306
Malmi, T. (2013). Management control as a package—The need for international research. Journal of Management Control, 23(4), 229-231. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00187-013-0169-z
Malmi, T. & Brown, D. A. (2008). Management control systems as a package: opportunities, challenges and research directions. Management Accounting Research, 19, 287-300. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mar.2008.09.003
Martyn, P., Sweeney, B., & Curtis, E. (2016). Strategy and control: 25 years of empirical use of Simons’ Levers of Control framework. Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change, 12(3), 281-324. https://doi.org/10.1108/JAOC-03-2015-0027
Merchant, K. A. & Van der Stede, W. A. (2017), Management control systems: performance measurement, evaluation and incentives, 4a. ed., London: Pearson Education Limited.
Merchant, K. A., & Otley, D. (2020). Beyond the systems versus package debate. Accounting, organizations and society, 86, 101185. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aos.2020.101185
Nightingale, D. J. (2000). Lean enterprises—a systems perspective. MIT Engineering Systems Division Internal Symposium, Cambridge, MA, 341–358.
Otley, D.T., 1980. The contingency theory of management accounting: achievement and prognosis. Accounting Organizations and Society, 5, 413–428. https://doi.org/10.1016/0361-3682(80)90040-9
Ouchi, W. (1979). A conceptual framework for the design of organizational control mechanisms. Management Science, 25 (9), 833-848. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.25.9.833
Pereira, A. C. & Romero, F. (2017). A review of the meanings and the implications of the Industry 4.0 concept. Procedia Manufacturing, 13, 1206–1214. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.promfg.2017.09.032
Pereira, C. A., Junior, E. B. C., & Guerreiro, R. (2020). A mensuração de eventos: uma contribuição do modelo de gestão econômica. Revista Fipecafi de Contabilidade, Controladoria e Finanças (RFCC), 1(1), 45-77.
Pfister, J. A., Peda, P., & Otley, D. (2023). A methodological framework for theoretical explanation in performance management and management control systems research. Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management, 20(2), 201-228. https://doi.org/10.1108/QRAM-10-2021-0193
Purchase, V., Parry, G., Valerdi, R., Nightingale, D., & Mills, J. (2011). Enterprise transformation: Why are we interested, what is it, and what are the challenges?. Journal of Enterprise Transformation, 1(1), 14-33. https://doi.org/10.1080/19488289.2010.549289.
Ramos-Maçães, M. A., & Román-Portas, M. (2022). The effects of organizational communication, leadership, and employee commitment in organizational change in the hospitality sector. Communication & Society, 89-106. https://doi.org/10.15581/003.35.2.89-106
Rehman, S. U., Mohamed, R., & Ayoup, H. (2019). The mediating role of organizational capabilities between organizational performance and its determinants. Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, 9(1), 1-23. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40497-019-0155-5
Rehman, S. U., Elrehail, H., Nair, K., Bhatti, A., & Taamneh, A. M. (2023). MCS package and entrepreneurial competency influence on business performance: the moderating role of business strategy. European Journal of Management and Business Economics, 32(1), 1-23. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJMBE-04-2020-0088
Sandelin, M. (2008). Operation of management control practices as a package—A case study on control system variety in a growth firm context. Management accounting research, 19(4), 324-343. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mar.2008.08.002
Sawabe, N., & Ushio, S. (2009). Studying the dialectics between and within management credo and management accounting. The Kyoto Economic Review 78(2), 127-156. https://doi.org/10.11179/KER.78.127
Schein, E. H. (1990). Organizational culture (Vol. 45, No. 2, p. 109). American Psychological Association. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/0003-066X.45.2.109
Shahnaei, S., & Long, C. S. (2015). The review of improving innovation performance through human resource practices in organization performance. Asian Social Science, 11(9), 52. https://doi.org/10.5539/ass.v11n9p52
Silva, A. P. D., Santos, J. C. D., & Konrad, M. R. (2016). Teoria geral dos sistemas: diferencial organizacional que viabiliza o pleno entendimento da empresa. Educação, Gestão e Sociedade, 6(22), 1-12.
Simons, R. (1995). Levers of control: how managers use innovative control systems to drive strategic renewal. Boston: Harvard Business Press.
Sony, M., & Naik, S. (2020). Industry 4.0 integration with socio-technical systems theory: A systematic review and proposed theoretical model. Technology in society, 61, 101248. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2020.101248
Strauß, E., & Zecher, C. (2013). Management control systems: a review. Journal of Management Control, 23(4), 233-268. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00187-012-0158-7
Traxler, A. A., Schrack, D., Greiling, D., Feldbauer, J., & Lautner, M. (2025). The interplay of sustainability reporting and management control–an exploration of ways for dovetailing to develop reporting beyond accountability. Journal of Applied Accounting Research, 26(6), 160-182. https://doi.org/10.1108/JAAR-08-2022-0222
Ushio, S. & Kazusa, Y. (2013). The development of accounting calculations as chronological network effects: growth rings of accounting calculations. Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change, 9(4), 380-407. https://doi.org/10.1108/JAOC-05-2010-0009
Vale, C. C. (2012). Teoria geral do sistema: histórico e correlações com a geografia e com o estudo da paisagem. Entre-Lugar, 3(6), 85-108.
Valerdi, R., Rouse, W. B. (2010). When systems thinking is not a natural act. In 5th IEEE Systems Conference, San Diego, CA, April 5–8, 2010.
Vaz, P. V. C., & Espejo, M. M. D. S. B. (2019). Mensurando Confiança Intraorganizacional: um estudo sobre seu impacto no Sistema de Controle Gerencial. Revista de Educação e Pesquisa em Contabilidade (REPeC), 13(2). https://doi.org/10.17524/repec.v13i2.2151
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Journal of Education and Research in Accounting (REPeC)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License, which allows the sharing of the work and recognition of authorship and its initial publication in this journal. This license allows others to distribute, remix, adapt, or create derivative works, even for commercial purposes, provided credit is given for the original creation.
b)There is no financial compensation to the authors in any capacity, for articles published in RePEc.c) The articles published in RePEc are the sole responsibility of the authors.