Ilse Maria Beuren, Vanderlei dos Santos and Daniele Cristina Bernd
This study aims to empirically examine the effects of using the management control system (MCS) on individual performance mediated by organizational learning. Complementarily, it…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to empirically examine the effects of using the management control system (MCS) on individual performance mediated by organizational learning. Complementarily, it evaluates the moderating effect of feedforward on the relationship between MCS use and organizational learning.
Design/methodology/approach
Structural equation modeling and mediation and moderation analyses were used in a sample of 194 managers from Brazilian companies listed in the Exame Magazine’s “Best and Biggest” ranking.
Findings
The results reveal that using the MCS from a cybernetic perspective contributes to organizational learning, contradicting theoretical arguments and empirical evidence that this hinders learning and that feedforward can strengthen this relationship, as long as it is in line with the way of using the MCS. A mediating effect of organizational learning on the relationship between MCS use and individual performance has also been confirmed.
Practical implications
The results demonstrate the effects of MCS use on individual performance and organizational learning by taking a taxonomy of cybernetic use and comprehensive MCS use as a basis. The results provide insights to managers by revealing that MCS use not only influences task performance through organizational learning but also tends to generate cooperative, persistent and initiative-taking behaviors.
Originality/value
The study provides an approach to the behavioral consequences of using the MCS (score-keeping use and comprehensive MCS use) and the role of specific cognitive and motivational mechanisms in individual performance from a multidimensional perspective (task-based, contextual and general).
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Ilse Maria Beuren, Guilherme Eduardo de Souza and Daniele Cristina Bernd
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the effects of the budget system use on innovation performance concerning products and processes in Brazilian companies.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the effects of the budget system use on innovation performance concerning products and processes in Brazilian companies.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey was conducted in companies with economic activities addressed by the Brazilian Industrial Research of Technological Innovation carried out by the Brazilian Institute for Geography and Statistics, which provided 111 valid answers. The structural equation modeling was used to test the hypotheses.
Findings
The results indicate that considering the budget use with control (diagnostic) characteristics as a mechanism able to elide the benefits of innovation does not find support because no negative effect may be detected in the moderation tests. On the other hand, the belief that budget use with (interactive) planning characteristics might potentiate the effects of innovation on performance has also not been confirmed, i.e. rather flexible budget use types, which could be aligned with the elasticity required by creative processes, do not seem to have the positive effect advocated in the literature.
Research limitations/implications
The sample did not allow a detailed analysis of other contextual characteristics that could evidence heterogeneity. The size difference between companies, based on the number of employees rather than the volume of innovation investments, may have affected the results.
Originality/value
The results show there is no moderation in the relation between technological innovation and performance, both by using interactive budget and diagnostic budget.
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Vanderlei dos Santos, Ilse Maria Beuren, Daniele Cristina Bernd and Natália Fey
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the influence of the use of different types of management controls (cost information, budget information, nonfinancial indicators and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the influence of the use of different types of management controls (cost information, budget information, nonfinancial indicators and informal controls) on product innovation mediated by knowledge sharing and moderated by technological turbulence.
Design/methodology/approach
Partial least squares structural equation modeling and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis have been used in a sample of 142 Brazilian startups that are in the traction stage.
Findings
Informal controls and nonfinancial indicators are used for product innovation, while budget information and cost information have not been shown to be directly associated with product innovation. However, as technological turbulence increases, budget information becomes particularly relevant to the innovation process. Informal controls are directly related to knowledge sharing in the startups studied.
Practical implications
The results can be useful to managers of startups in the traction stage, as the research highlights different management controls and possible combinations that can be used to drive product innovation, in addition to highlighting the role of knowledge sharing in promoting innovation, especially in the context of technological turbulence.
Originality/value
The literature on management control systems (MCS) has challenged the traditional belief that their use is restricted to the entrepreneurial stance of startup companies. The study develops an understanding of how and under what conditions the presence of MCS supports innovation in startup companies, in particular, what types of management controls used by these companies impact product innovation.
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Daniele Cristina Bernd and Ilse Maria Beuren
The paper aims to analyze the influence of the enabling design of management control systems (MCS) on the intensity of use of management controls (budgeting and reengineering and…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to analyze the influence of the enabling design of management control systems (MCS) on the intensity of use of management controls (budgeting and reengineering and improvement) in innovation (of processes and marketing).
Design/methodology/approach
A survey was conducted with mid-level managers of the companies that are considered the most innovative in Brazil. Structural equation modeling was applied to analyze the data.
Findings
The enabling MCS design positively and directly influences the intensity of use of management controls (budgeting and reengineering and improvements) and innovation (of processes and marketing). Indirect effects are also observed in the relationship between the enabling MCS design and innovation, through the intensity of use of reengineering and improvements. Environmental uncertainties reflect negatively on the intensity of use of management controls and innovation. These results broaden the discussions on the factors that can affect innovation actions and highlight the importance of considering them in the MCS design.
Originality/value
The value of the study lies in contributing to minimize inconsistencies in research results concerning the effects of MCS on innovation and of factors that may act as intervening factors in such a relationship. It discusses the influence of internal organizational factors, related to MCS design, and of external factors, environmental uncertainties, on the intensity of use of specific management controls and on the promotion of innovations in companies imbued with this mission.
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Arne De Keyser and Werner H. Kunz
Service robots are now an integral part of people's living and working environment, making service robots one of the hot topics for service researchers today. Against that…
Abstract
Purpose
Service robots are now an integral part of people's living and working environment, making service robots one of the hot topics for service researchers today. Against that background, the paper reviews the recent service robot literature following a Theory-Context-Characteristics-Methodology (TCCM) approach to capture the state of art of the field. In addition, building on qualitative input from researchers who are active in this field, the authors highlight where opportunities for further development and growth lie.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper identifies and analyzes 88 manuscripts (featuring 173 individual studies) published in academic journals featured on the SERVSIG literature alert. In addition, qualitative input gathered from 79 researchers who are active in the service field and doing research on service robots is infused throughout the manuscript.
Findings
The key research foci of the service robot literature to date include comparing service robots with humans, the role of service robots' look and feel, consumer attitudes toward service robots and the role of service robot conversational skills and behaviors. From a TCCM view, the authors discern dominant theories (anthropomorphism theory), contexts (retail/healthcare, USA samples, Business-to-Consumer (B2C) settings and customer focused), study characteristics (robot types: chatbots, not embodied and text/voice-based; outcome focus: customer intentions) and methodologies (experimental, picture-based scenarios).
Originality/value
The current paper is the first to analyze the service robot literature from a TCCM perspective. Doing so, the study gives (1) a comprehensive picture of the field to date and (2) highlights key pathways to inspire future work.