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The roles of management control in a product development setting

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  • Chris Akroyd
  • William Maguire

Abstract

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine the ways in which management control is enacted in a product development setting, to provide new insights into the different roles that control can play in this context. Design/methodology/approach - A nine‐month, in‐depth field study was carried out at a subsidiary of an Australasian multinational firm which operates in the consumer foods industry. A participant observation approach was used to collect field notes and documents from the organisation, which were analysed through the lens of ethnomethodology. Findings - The results indicate that the role of management control during product development is mainly focused on reducing uncertainty at each stage and promoting goal congruence at the decision gates. The authors argue that this helps explain why management control has a positive effect in a product development setting. Research limitations/implications - The implication of this finding is that the role of management control changes during product development due to the involvement of different organisational members (communities of practice) and the activities that they carry out. This helps build a more holistic understanding of control in product development. As this is a field study of a specific company, the findings are not generalizable to other companies or settings. Future research needs to investigate other possible roles which management control may play in this context. Originality/value - The paper extends the research in this area by showing how and why management control can take on multiple roles in practice.

Suggested Citation

  • Chris Akroyd & William Maguire, 2011. "The roles of management control in a product development setting," Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 8(3), pages 212-237, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:eme:qrampp:v:8:y:2011:i:3:p:212-237
    DOI: 10.1108/11766091111162061
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. V. Krishnan & Karl T. Ulrich, 2001. "Product Development Decisions: A Review of the Literature," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 47(1), pages 1-21, January.
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    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. Muhammad Haseeb & Marcin Lis & Ilham Haouas & Leonardus WW Mihardjo, 2019. "The Mediating Role of Business Strategies between Management Control Systems Package and Firms Stability: Evidence from SMEs in Malaysia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(17), pages 1-20, August.
    3. Stephen A. Leybourne & Peter Cook, 2015. ""Rockin' All Over The World": organisational improvisation lessons from the music-based practitioner," International Journal of Management Concepts and Philosophy, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 9(1), pages 1-19.
    4. 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).
    5. Hakeem Hammood Flayyih & Aws Saeed Mirdan & Abderrazek Hassan Elkhaldi, 2021. "Critical Success Factors Of Strategic Accounting Information System And It'S Relation With Strategic Decisions Effectiveness," Annals of Faculty of Economics, University of Oradea, Faculty of Economics, vol. 1(1), pages 227-234, July.
    6. 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.
    7. Shafique-ur Rehman & Rapiah Mohamed & Hazeline Ayoup, 2019. "The mediating role of organizational capabilities between organizational performance and its determinants," Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, Springer;UNESCO Chair in Entrepreneurship, vol. 9(1), pages 1-23, December.
    8. Kennedy, Frances A. & Widener, Sally K., 2019. "Socialization mechanisms and goal congruence," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 32-49.

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