IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/acctbr/v47y2017i3p313-343.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Managing different types of innovation: mutually reinforcing management control systems and the generation of dynamic tension

Author

Listed:
  • Emer Curtis
  • Breda Sweeney

Abstract

Using a single case study of a highly innovative medical device company engaged in two types of innovation (technological and customer-oriented), this paper examines the nature of the relationship between mutually reinforcing management control systems (MCSs) and the generation of dynamic tension between the different types of innovation. Findings show how mutually reinforcing MCSs create a push for consistency but fail to generate a dynamic tension between different types of innovation, thus crowding out one type of innovation. While the literature to date has been unclear on how mutual reinforcement and the generation of dynamic tension are related, this study makes a distinction between mutually reinforcing control systems that support each other in driving momentum around a particular strategic objective (consistent reinforcement), and control systems which are reinforcing in creating dynamic tension, thus reducing momentum in one particular direction (countervailing reinforcement). It also contributes to the literature by highlighting the protective role that MCSs can play in the management of innovation. Feedback and measurement systems reduce the vulnerability of resources to diversion to other areas by stimulating action on projects, driving accountability around the use of the resources, and commanding management attention.

Suggested Citation

  • Emer Curtis & Breda Sweeney, 2017. "Managing different types of innovation: mutually reinforcing management control systems and the generation of dynamic tension," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(3), pages 313-343, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:acctbr:v:47:y:2017:i:3:p:313-343
    DOI: 10.1080/00014788.2016.1255585
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/00014788.2016.1255585
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1080/00014788.2016.1255585?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Abernethy, Margaret A. & Lillis, Anne M., 1995. "The impact of manufacturing flexibility on management control system design," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 20(4), pages 241-258, May.
    2. Antonio Davila & George Foster & Daniel Oyon, 2009. "Accounting and Control, Entrepreneurship and Innovation: Venturing into New Research Opportunities," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(2), pages 281-311.
    3. William G. Ouchi, 1979. "A Conceptual Framework for the Design of Organizational Control Mechanisms," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 25(9), pages 833-848, September.
    4. Henri, Jean-Francois, 2006. "Management control systems and strategy: A resource-based perspective," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 31(6), pages 529-558, August.
    5. Karen J. Jansen, 2004. "From Persistence to Pursuit: A Longitudinal Examination of Momentum During the Early Stages of Strategic Change," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 15(3), pages 276-294, June.
    6. Qing Cao & Eric Gedajlovic & Hongping Zhang, 2009. "Unpacking Organizational Ambidexterity: Dimensions, Contingencies, and Synergistic Effects," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 20(4), pages 781-796, August.
    7. Bisbe, Josep & Otley, David, 2004. "The effects of the interactive use of management control systems on product innovation," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 29(8), pages 709-737, November.
    8. Adler, Paul S. & Chen, Clara Xiaoling, 2011. "Combining creativity and control: Understanding individual motivation in large-scale collaborative creativity," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 63-85, February.
    9. Ahrens, Thomas & Chapman, Christopher S., 2006. "Doing qualitative field research in management accounting: Positioning data to contribute to theory," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 31(8), pages 819-841, November.
    10. Chenhall, Robert H. & Moers, Frank, 2015. "The role of innovation in the evolution of management accounting and its integration into management control," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 1-13.
    11. Hall, Matthew, 2010. "Accounting information and managerial work," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 35(3), pages 301-315, April.
    12. Widener, Sally K., 2007. "An empirical analysis of the levers of control framework," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 32(7-8), pages 757-788.
    13. Josep Bisbe & Ricardo Malagueño, 2015. "How control systems influence product innovation processes: examining the role of entrepreneurial orientation," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(3), pages 356-386, April.
    14. O'Reilly, Charles A., III & Tushman, Michael L., 2013. "Organizational Ambidexterity: Past, Present and Future," Research Papers 2130, Stanford University, Graduate School of Business.
    15. Jørgensen, Brian & Messner, Martin, 2010. "Accounting and strategising: A case study from new product development," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 184-204, February.
    16. Josep Bisbe & Ricardo Malagueno, 2009. "The Choice of Interactive Control Systems under Different Innovation Management Modes," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(2), pages 371-405.
    17. Milgrom, Paul & Roberts, John, 1995. "Complementarities and fit strategy, structure, and organizational change in manufacturing," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(2-3), pages 179-208, April.
    18. Abernethy, Margaret A. & Brownell, Peter, 1997. "Management control systems in research and development organizations: The role of accounting, behavior and personnel controls," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 22(3-4), pages 233-248.
    19. Silvana Revellino & Jan Mouritsen, 2009. "The Multiplicity of Controls and the Making of Innovation," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(2), pages 341-369.
    20. Robert Simons, 1991. "Strategic orientation and top management attention to control systems," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 12(1), pages 49-62, January.
    21. Mundy, Julia, 2010. "Creating dynamic tensions through a balanced use of management control systems," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 35(5), pages 499-523, July.
    22. Hall, Matthew, 2010. "Accounting information and managerial work," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 28539, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Sharlene Biswas & Chris Akroyd, 2022. "Collaborative inter‐organisational relationships and management control change," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(4), pages 4569-4586, December.
    2. Rúben Silva Barros & Ana Maria Dias Simões da Costa Ferreira, 2023. "Management control systems and innovation: a case study grounded in institutional theory," Journal of Management Control: Zeitschrift für Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, Springer, vol. 34(1), pages 109-133, March.
    3. Lill, Philipp A. & Wald, Andreas, 2021. "The agility-control-nexus: A levers of control approach on the consequences of agility in innovation projects," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    4. Ewelina Zarzycka & Justyna Dobroszek & Lauri Lepistö & Sinikka Moilanen, 2019. "Coexistence of innovation and standardization: evidence from the lean environment of business process outsourcing," Journal of Management Control: Zeitschrift für Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, Springer, vol. 30(3), pages 251-286, October.
    5. Kevin Baird & Sophia Su & Rahat Munir, 2023. "The mediating role of levers of controls on the association between sustainable leadership and organisational resilience," Journal of Management Control: Zeitschrift für Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, Springer, vol. 34(2), pages 167-200, June.
    6. Rogério João Lunkes & Fabricia Silva da Rosa & Januário José Monteiro & Daiane Antonini Bortoluzzi, 2020. "Interactions among Environmental Training, Environmental Strategic Planning and Personnel Controls in Radical Environmental Innovation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-13, October.
    7. Bedford, David S. & Bisbe, Josep & Sweeney, Breda, 2019. "Performance measurement systems as generators of cognitive conflict in ambidextrous firms," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 21-37.
    8. Bedford, David & Bisbe, Josep & Sweeney, Breda, 2022. "Enhancing external knowledge search: The influence of performance measurement system design on the absorptive capacity of top management teams," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Bedford, David S. & Bisbe, Josep & Sweeney, Breda, 2019. "Performance measurement systems as generators of cognitive conflict in ambidextrous firms," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 21-37.
    2. Müller-Stewens, Benedikt & Widener, Sally K. & Möller, Klaus & Steinmann, Jan-Christoph, 2020. "The role of diagnostic and interactive control uses in innovation," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    3. Christina Boedker & Kar Ming Chong, 2022. "The mediating role of accounting controls between supervisors' empowering leadership style and subordinates' creativity and goal productivity," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(4), pages 4587-4614, December.
    4. Ewelina Zarzycka & Justyna Dobroszek & Lauri Lepistö & Sinikka Moilanen, 2019. "Coexistence of innovation and standardization: evidence from the lean environment of business process outsourcing," Journal of Management Control: Zeitschrift für Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, Springer, vol. 30(3), pages 251-286, October.
    5. Chenhall, Robert H. & Moers, Frank, 2015. "The role of innovation in the evolution of management accounting and its integration into management control," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 1-13.
    6. Masquefa, Bertrand & Gallhofer, Sonja & Haslam, Jim, 2017. "Developing appreciation of micro-organizational processes of accounting change and indicating pathways to more ‘Enabling Accounting’ in a micro-organizational domain of research and development," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 59-82.
    7. Andrea Fried, 2017. "Terminological distinctions of ‘control’: a review of the implications for management control research in the context of innovation," Journal of Management Control: Zeitschrift für Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, Springer, vol. 28(1), pages 5-40, February.
    8. Rúben Silva Barros & Ana Maria Dias Simões da Costa Ferreira, 2023. "Management control systems and innovation: a case study grounded in institutional theory," Journal of Management Control: Zeitschrift für Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, Springer, vol. 34(1), pages 109-133, March.
    9. Henri, Jean-François & Wouters, Marc, 2020. "Interdependence of management control practices for product innovation: The influence of environmental unpredictability," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    10. Eva Lövstål & Anne-Marie Jontoft, 2017. "Tensions at the intersection of management control and innovation: a literature review," Journal of Management Control: Zeitschrift für Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, Springer, vol. 28(1), pages 41-79, February.
    11. Bellora-Bienengräber, Lucia & Derfuss, Klaus & Endrikat, Jan, 2023. "Taking stock of research on the levers of control with meta-analytic methods: Stylized facts and boundary conditions," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    12. Bisbe, Josep & Kruis, Anne-Marie & Madini, Paola, 2019. "Coercive, enabling, diagnostic, and interactive control: Untangling the threads of their connections," Journal of Accounting Literature, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 124-144.
    13. Lill, Philipp A. & Wald, Andreas, 2021. "The agility-control-nexus: A levers of control approach on the consequences of agility in innovation projects," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    14. Bedford, David S. & Malmi, Teemu & Sandelin, Mikko, 2016. "Management control effectiveness and strategy: An empirical analysis of packages and systems," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 12-28.
    15. Stefan Hofmann & Andreas Wald & Ronald Gleich, 2012. "Determinants and effects of the diagnostic and interactive use of control systems: an empirical analysis on the use of budgets," Metrika: International Journal for Theoretical and Applied Statistics, Springer, vol. 23(3), pages 153-182, December.
    16. Pasi Aaltola, 2019. "Strategic thinking and accounting: potentials and pitfalls from a managerial perspective," Journal of Management Control: Zeitschrift für Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, Springer, vol. 30(3), pages 323-351, October.
    17. Gerdin, Jonas & Johansson, Tobias & Wennblom, Gabriella, 2019. "The contingent nature of complementarity between results and value-based controls for managing company-level profitability: A situational strength perspective," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    18. Demartini, Maria Chiara & Otley, David, 2020. "Beyond the system vs. package dualism in Performance Management Systems design: A loose coupling approach," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    19. Habib Mahama & Zhichao (Alex) Wang, 2023. "Impact of the interactive and diagnostic uses of performance measurement systems on procedural fairness perception, cooperation and performance in supply alliances," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 63(3), pages 3253-3296, September.
    20. Fasshauer, Ingrid, 2012. "Les interactions entre contrôle et stratégie : redéfinition du rôle des cadres intermédiaires et du levier interactif de contrôle," Economics Thesis from University Paris Dauphine, Paris Dauphine University, number 123456789/11150 edited by Berland, Nicolas.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:taf:acctbr:v:47:y:2017:i:3:p:313-343. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Longhurst (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.tandfonline.com/RABR20 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.