Sharlene Sheetal Narayan Biswas, Chris Akroyd and Norio Sawabe
Using institutional theory, this study aims to understand how the management control systems (MCSs) designed by top managers influence the micro-level process practices of…
Abstract
Purpose
Using institutional theory, this study aims to understand how the management control systems (MCSs) designed by top managers influence the micro-level process practices of organization members during product innovation.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper reports on a case study carried out at NZMed to examine the design and use of MCSs and their product innovation practices. Simons’ levers of control was used to understand the ways in which MCSs were designed and used in a product innovation setting.
Findings
The findings indicate that the everyday micro-level processes of organization members encoded MCS when their espoused values aligned with those of top managers. However, when the perspectives within the organization differed, variations to the micro-level processes of organization members emerged. The authors show how this resulted in an increase in innovation capabilities necessary to meet organizational goals.
Practical implications
The misalignment between espoused values and enacted values had a positive effect as it helped the organization maintain their innovation culture, and build long-term trusting relationships with suppliers which enabled the achievement of organizational goals.
Originality/value
By focusing on the relationship between MCS and the micro-level processes of organization members in product innovation, the paper shows how the lack of alignment between the espoused values of top management and the enacted values of project managers explained the variations between the MCS used by top managers and the practices of project teams at our case study company.
Details
Keywords
Sharlene Sheetal Narayan Biswas and Chris Akroyd
This paper aims to understand the strategic management of innovation by examining the effect that management control systems (MCS) have on innovation activities during the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to understand the strategic management of innovation by examining the effect that management control systems (MCS) have on innovation activities during the strategic change process.
Design/methodology/approach
A case study was carried out at an innovative company as they undertook a strategic change from closed innovation to open innovation. Simons’ levers of control was used to frame the ways in which MCS were designed and used by managers and the effect MCS have on the innovation activities of organization members.
Findings
The findings indicate that while managers designed and used MCS to support a drive toward open innovation, organization members did not change their innovation activities. Instead, the findings show that new MCS enabled improvements to their closed innovation strategy. This led to a decrease in the time taken to develop new products, which resulted in increased customer satisfaction, which contributed to the achievement of organizational goals.
Originality/value
By focusing on the relationship between MCS and innovation activities in the strategic change process, the paper sheds new light on the ability of MCS to change the innovation activities of organization members. Even though the innovation activities at our case company did not change the interactions between the MCS enabled organizational goals to be achieved as they provided the necessary information infrastructure and motivated goal congruence.
Details
Keywords
Chris Akroyd, Sharlene Sheetal Narayan Biswas and Sharon Chuang
This paper examines how the management control practices of organization members enable the alignment of product development projects with potentially conflicting corporate…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper examines how the management control practices of organization members enable the alignment of product development projects with potentially conflicting corporate strategies during the product development process.
Methodology/approach
Using an ethnomethodology informed research approach, we carry out a case study of an innovative New Zealand food company. Case study data included an internal company document, interviews with organization members, and an external market analysis document.
Findings
Our case study company had both sales growth and profit growth corporate strategies which have been argued to cause tensions. We found that four management control practices enabled the alignment of product development projects to these strategies. The first management control practice was having the NPD and marketing functions responsible for different corporate strategies. Other management control practices included the involvement of organization members from across multiple functions, the activities they carried out, and the measures used to evaluate project performance during the product development process.
Research limitations/implications
These findings add new insights to the management accounting literature by showing how a combination of management control practices can be used by organization members to align projects with potentially conflicting corporate strategies during the product development process.
Practical implications
While the alignment of product development projects to corporate strategy is not easy this study shows how it can be enabled through a number of management control practices.
Originality/value
We contribute to the management accounting research in this area by extending our understanding of the management control practices used during the product development process.