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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the direct and indirect effects of managerial coaching on critical reflection mediated through learning goal orientation.

The authors conducted a questionnaire survey of 169 employees in 53 teams at an IT firm in Japan. The data were examined using multi-level analyses.

Managerial coaching has a direct positive effect on critical reflection, and the relationship is mediated by learning goal orientation.

The characteristics of the sample may limit the generalization of the findings. Future research should verify the model in other industries and countries.

The organizations should note that managerial coaching is useful not only for facilitating employees’ problem-solving but also for enhancing their critical reflection. It should also be noted that employees can reflect critically on their beliefs and work routines when they have learning goals.

Although few quantitative studies have investigated the determinants of critical reflection, the present research reveals the overlooked functions of managerial coaching in promoting employees’ learning.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of managerial coaching, as well as interactive and diagnostic uses of management control systems (MCS), on reflection and critical reflection, which are important for team learning.

Data were collected using a questionnaire survey. Hierarchical regression analyses were performed to test hypotheses using data from 235 employees in 50 teams from a Japanese automotive supplier.

The results indicated that: MCS used interactively have a positive influence on critical reflection in teams; MCS used diagnostically have no significant effect on reflection or critical reflection in teams; and managerial coaching has a positive influence on team reflection.

These findings suggest that the interactive use of MCS should be combined with managerial coaching in promoting reflection and critical reflection within teams. Because this study used data from employees of a Japanese automotive supplier, the results may have been influenced by the Japanese management style.

Organizations need to implement interactive MCS at the team level, while coaching programs should be provided for managers to enhance team learning.

This study extends the existing literature by examining the effect of MCS at the team level, and identifying that managerial coaching plays a complementary role, supporting the interactive use of MCS in promoting reflection within a team.

Although middle managers play important roles in forming strategies and generating innovation, few studies have explored the influence of management control systems (MCS) on employees’ behaviors or performance at the middle-management level. The purpose of this study is to examine the effect an interactive use of MCS has on individual performance at the unit level.

A longitudinal, multisource and multilevel survey was conducted among 373 nurses in 20 units at a Japanese public hospital.

The multi-level analyzes indicate that middle managers’ interactive use of MCS has a direct and indirect positive influence on individual performance, through proactive behavior, as well as through psychological empowerment and, subsequently, through proactive behavior.

As the present study collected data from nurses at a Japanese hospital, it is necessary to conduct research in other countries using different occupations to verify the findings.

Organizations need to be aware that the interactive use of MCS can be an effective tool for empowering and motivating employees.

The present study contributes to the literature by clarifying the mechanisms of how the interactive use of MCS influences employees’ psychological and behavioral outcomes at the middle-management level.

This study aims to investigate the relative weight of financial and non-financial performance measures used to evaluate production managers (such as shop floor managers or foremen) in a modern manufacturing setting.

Using survey data from Japanese factories, the paper examines the association between the choice of profit, cost, and non-financial performance measures with two characteristics of manufacturing systems: interdependence and multi-tasking.

The results indicate that interdependence has a significant and positive association with the importance of profit information, while multi-tasking is associated negatively with the importance of profit information, and positively with non-financial information for performance evaluation.

In recent years, a significant shift has been observed in Japanese production management with many companies now focusing on profit information instead of cost information. For example, the past studies show that large Japanese manufacturing companies are now using micro-profit centres and include profit information when evaluating factories. However, little empirical evidence is available on performance measurement at the shop floor foreman level, and even less is known about the importance of profit information in the evaluation of these lower level managers.