eThesis - School of Business electronic theses

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RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

This study contributes to the literature of management control systems as a package by examining the interrelationships between the control components. Moreover, the study aims at explaining the control configuration present at a Finnish technical wholesale company and identifying what type of relationships exist between the controls and which relationships seem more crucial than others.

DATA SOURCES AND RESEARCH METHOD

The theoretical references of this study encompass journal articles and books discussing MCS as a package, with a specific focus on examinations on the component interrelationships. The research was executed as an explorative case study. Empirical data was primarily collected from 35 interviews between January and August 2010, all of which were recorded and transcribed. Additionally internal written materials of the case company were utilized in the analysis.

RESULTS

The interrelationships of MCS elements were identified and categorized as complementary and supplementary. Complementary relationships were distinguished as those between the core control components of the package, with aligned behavioral control effect. Supplementary controls support the core control package, but do not directly align the behavior. In addition, this study argues for an alternative option to rigorous cybernetics-based control configurations.

KEYWORDS

Management control system package, interrelationships, internal consistency, complement

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The empirical data collection has been executed in collaboration with Mikko Sandelin (Aalto University School of Economics).