scholarly journals The diffusion of management control systems in Italy: A comparison between family and non-family firms

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 165-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Broccardo ◽  
Francesca Culasso ◽  
Elisa Giacosa ◽  
Elisa Truant
Keyword(s):  
Strategic Planning ◽  
Performance Measurement ◽  
Control Systems ◽  
Family Firms ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Management Control ◽  
Management Control Systems ◽  
Measurement Systems ◽  
Planning And Management ◽  
Performance Measurement Systems

The current economic crisis has accentuated the purchasing power loss and the decrease of companies’ profitability; so, the strategic planning and management control systems become needful because they provide managers the tools to drive the whole organization towards established goals. For this reason, the research is focused on the use and the diffusion of advanced management control systems within a sample of Italian companies, both family firms (FFs) and non-family firms (NFFs). The research aims at investigating the diffusion of performance measurement systems within the sample of Italian FFs and NFFs and at analysing which kind of advanced managerial tools are more widespread. The research has been conducted using the method of questionnaire in order to photograph the state of the art in a significant number of Italian firms. The expected outcomes are that the most developed strategic planning and management control systems are still not widespread within the sample of small and medium enterprises. In addition, we also suppose that performance measurement systems are more widespread in NFFs than in FFs due to the significant presence of the family in company’s running and a related lower power of managers.

Management control systems and research management in universities

2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (7) ◽  
pp. 1018-1046 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gloria Agyemang ◽  
Jane Broadbent
Keyword(s):  
Performance Measurement ◽  
Control Systems ◽  
Management Control ◽  
Research Management ◽  
Management Control Systems ◽  
Research Assessment ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Measurement Systems ◽  
Internal Management ◽  
Performance Measurement Systems

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the management control systems developed by universities and groups within them, to manage research within UK University Business and Management Schools. Specifically, the paper analyses how universities develop their internal management control systems in response to an externally imposed regulatory system. It also provides an agenda for future research. Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses a middle range approach to consider the UK Research Excellence Framework (REF) and the previous Research Assessment Exercises. It uses the language provided by a number of conceptual frames to analyse insights from the lived experience, and builds on previous literature that has recognised the perverse outcomes of such performance measurement systems. Findings – The study finds that the internal management control systems developed by academics themselves amplify the controls imposed by the REF. These internal control systems are accepted by some academics although they encourage a movement away from previously held academic values. Originality/value – This study contributes to debates about the dysfunctional impacts of the use of performance measures to manage research. Its originality lies in explaining that the management control systems developed to resist the imposition of external performance measurement systems may lead to symbolic violence where participants become involved with their own subjugation.

scholarly journals La influencia de la planificación estratégica y los sistemas de control de gestión sobre el rendimiento de las empresas constructoras: un estudio empírico en España / The Influence of the Strategic Planning and Management Control Systems on Construction Companies Performance: an Empirical Study in Spain

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
José Giménez Sánchez ◽  
Domingo García Pérez de Lema ◽  
Antonia Madrid-Guijarro
Keyword(s):  
Strategic Planning ◽  
Control Systems ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
Management Control ◽  
Management Control Systems ◽  
Company Performance ◽  
Sustainable Competitive Advantage ◽  
Construction Companies ◽  
Planning And Management ◽  
Advanced Control

ABSTRACTIn this article, we analyse through a sample of 112 companies representing the Spanish construction sector, the relationship between the development of strategic planning and the use of management control systems of the company and its performance. The results show that, traditional and advanced control systems, exert a positive influence on company performance. Therefore, the establishment of control systems was confirmed as a means to obtain a sustainable competitive advantage. Other findings were the positive effect of company size and age in the development of formal strategic planning and management control systems.RESUMENLa importancia de las empresas constructoras para el desarrollo económico y productivo ha suscitado investigaciones en todo el mundo para identificar las herramientas de gestión que favorecen su competitividad. En este artículo se analiza, a través de una muestra de 112 empresas representativas del sector de la construcción español, la relación entre el desarrollo de planificación estratégica y la utilización de sistemas de control de gestión de la empresa y su rendimiento. Los resultados muestran que tanto los sistemas de control tradicionales, como los avanzados ejercen una influencia positiva sobre el rendimiento de la compañía; confirmándose como medio para obtener una ventaja competitiva sostenible. Otros hallazgos son el efecto positivo del tamaño y la edad de la empresa para el desarrollo de planificación estratégica formal y sistemas de control de gestión. Este estudio puede ser de interés para los empresarios y las administraciones públicas.

scholarly journals The Role of Family Management and Management Control Systems in Promoting Technological Innovation in Family SMEs

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Feranita Feranita ◽  
Daniel Ruiz-Palomo ◽  
Julio Diéguez-Soto
Keyword(s):  
Control Systems ◽  
Technological Innovation ◽  
Family Firms ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Management Control ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Management Control Systems ◽  
Family Management ◽  
Medium Enterprises ◽  
Innovation Outcomes

This paper seeks to resolve the controversy regarding the relationship between family management and technological innovation outcomes. In contrast to prior studies, we focus on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and go beyond the traditional input-output statistical analysis, by introducing the mediating effect of the use of management control systems (MCS). We also further examine heterogeneity among family firms, studying whether a greater family management influences, directly or indirectly, on technological innovation outcomes. Our results from a data consists of 199 Spanish family-owned small and medium enterprises (FSMEs) were not able to indicate a significant direct influence of the level of family management on technological innovation outcome but supported the notion that the utilization of MCS mediated the above relationship.

The institutionalization of management control systems in a family firm

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 649-673
Author(s):  
Marcelo S. Pagliarussi ◽  
Michel A. Leme
Keyword(s):  
Quality Control ◽  
Control Systems ◽  
Family Firms ◽  
Family Values ◽  
Management Control ◽  
Management Control Systems ◽  
Family Identity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Family ◽  
Control Management

Purpose This study aims to understand how family values, family managers and non-family managers influence the institutionalization of management control systems in family firms. Design/methodology/approach A case study was conducted in a family business group that underwent a process of adoption and transformation of its management control system. Findings The results indicate that several non-family managers, besides the controller, played crucial roles in harmonizing the logic of a generalized practice (quality control management) with the existing rationalities of the family firm. The authors also observed that the ISO 9001/quality control management logic together with the family values of professionalism, meritocracy and an emphasis on the business’s identity rather than the family identity have laid the groundwork for the formalization of the business group’s management controls. Practical implications This study shows that quality control management is an accessible source of guidance for the formalization of managerial activities within an organization. Originality/value This paper contributes to the literature by clarifying the role performed by non-family managers during the formalization of management control in family firms. It also shows how the family values of professionalism, meritocracy and an emphasis on the business’s identity rather than family identity can influence the way control is exercised within family firms.

scholarly journals Evidence for the Feedback Role of Performance Measurement Systems

2019 ◽  
Vol 65 (9) ◽  
pp. 4385-4406
Author(s):  
Shannon W. Anderson ◽  
Amanda Kimball
Keyword(s):  
Performance Measurement ◽  
Student Learning ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Management Control ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Decision Quality ◽  
Measurement Systems ◽  
Performance Measurement Systems ◽  
K 12

Performance measurement systems (PMSs) are used to diagnose and remediate problems, termed the “decision-facilitating” or feedback role of management control. We examine whether use of PMSs by individual decision makers is associated with better performance. Experimental studies have isolated individual-level effects of feedback on decision quality; however, it is difficult to extend these findings to natural settings. Archival and survey studies offer evidence on the association between the presence of PMSs and performance but have had limited success in measuring decision makers’ actual use of PMSs and addressing endogeneity of the decision to use PMSs. We use unobtrusively collected data on actual PMS use in 30 K–12 charter schools over three years to test whether teachers who make greater use of two PMSs are associated with greater growth in student learning. We find that teachers’ use of PMSs is associated with increased student learning, consistent with the premise that PMSs facilitate teacher interventions and improve student outcomes. The results are both statistically and materially significant, and they are better explained by PMS use than by selection effects of better teachers using PMSs. Consistent with the organization’s focus on “at-risk” students, the strongest effects of teachers’ use of one PMS are concentrated among the lowest-performing students. In sum, we find broad support for the thesis that the feedback role of PMSs is associated with meaningful performance improvement. This paper was accepted by Suraj Srinivasan, accounting.

Monitoring and regulating corporate identities using the balanced scorecard

2009 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 116-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jai Kim ◽  
Caroline Hatcher
Keyword(s):  
Performance Measurement ◽  
Balanced Scorecard ◽  
Identity Management ◽  
Corporate Identity ◽  
Management Control ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Balanced Scorecard ◽  
Measurement Systems ◽  
Performance Measurement Systems ◽  
And Performance

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide a parallel review of the role and processes of monitoring and regulation of corporate identities, examining both the communication and the performance measurement literature.Design/methodology/approachTwo questions are posed: Is it possible to effectively monitor and regulate corporate identities as a management control process? and, What is the relationship between corporate identity and performance measurement?FindingsCorporate identity management is positioned as a strategically complex task embracing the shaping of a range of dimensions of organisational life. The performance measurement literature likewise now emphasises organisational ability to incorporate both financial and “soft” non‐financial performance measures. Consequently, the balanced scorecard has the potential to play multiple roles in monitoring and regulating the key dimensions of corporate identities. These shifts in direction in both fields suggest that performance measurement systems, as self‐producing and self‐referencing systems, have the potential to become both organic and powerful as organisational symbols and communication tools. Through this process of understanding and mobilising the interaction of both approaches to management, it may be possible to create a less obtrusive and more subtle way to control the nature of the organisation.Originality/valueThis paper attempts the theoretical and practical fusion of disciplinary knowledge around corporate identities and performance measurement systems, potentially making a significant contribution to understanding, shaping and managing organisational identities.

The practice of strategic performance measurement systems

2015 ◽  
Vol 64 (2) ◽  
pp. 194-227 ◽  
Author(s):  
Riccardo Silvi ◽  
Monica Bartolini ◽  
Anna Raffoni ◽  
Franco Visani
Keyword(s):  
Performance Measurement ◽  
Information Needs ◽  
Management Control ◽  
Financial Indicators ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Financial Measures ◽  
Strategic Performance ◽  
Measurement Systems ◽  
Performance Measurement Systems

Purpose – For over 20 years, management control literature has indicated the importance of supporting the strategy development and implementation process with strategic performance measurement systems (SPMS) and integrating traditional financial indicators with a set of multidimensional forward-looking measures focusing on the long term and linked to cause-effect relationships. Nevertheless, knowledge on the specific SPMS models used in practice and their effectiveness in supporting the managerial decision-making process is still fragmented and ambiguous. The purpose of this paper is to first analyse the SPMS models used in practice, also considering the role of strategy and firm size as drivers of adoption, thereafter analysing the capability of SPMS models to provide managers with measures that are consistent with their strategic information needs. Design/methodology/approach – The research is based on a survey involving 88 Italian medium-large sized firms (or subsidiaries of multinational firms) operating on a global level. Findings – The cluster analysis identifies two very different SPMS models used in practice. The first is the Short-term Financial Model, and as its name indicates, is based on short-term, internally focused and unconnected financial indicators. The second is the Multidimensional Additive Model, which integrates financial and non-financial measures but without a fully developed fit with the strategy. The research primarily indicates unsatisfied information needs in both clusters, presenting a significant challenge to the further development of existing SPMS models and in defining new theoretical SPMS frameworks. Practical implications – The adoption of an incremental approach to SPMS, simply adding new operational and strategic non-financial measures without a real fit with the strategy does not increase the information effectiveness of the system. Originality/value – The paper analyses the characteristics and use of SPMS models in practice from an exploratory perspective, defining and applying a model to evaluate the information effectiveness of SPMS.

Integration of Sustainability and Management Control Systems

2018 ◽  
pp. 203-214
Author(s):  
Paola Vola
Keyword(s):  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Control Systems ◽  
Business Model ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Family Firms ◽  
Management Control ◽  
Management Control Systems ◽  
Sustainable Business ◽  
Research Issues ◽  
Family Smes

In order to support family SMEs in developing more responsible, innovative, and competitive business models, this chapter proposes to study the role and interaction between sustainability control systems (SCSs) and management control systems (MCSs). The chapter will examine management control and family business literature with the purpose of discussing the following research issues: What are the interactions between different forms of social responsibility in family SMESs? How can we transfer the family firms' attitude to social responsibility in a sustainable business model? What are main elements of a sustainable business model that can leverage on family firms business model? The conceptual framework will be defined through literature review: the main aim is to convey the meaning of sustainability and investigating the integration between SCSs and MCSs in family SMEs.

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