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Purpose – This study investigates in depth how decision-making of different organisational members is shaped by various management control systems (MCSs) that reflect different institutional logics, how the entire organisation deals with the arising institutional complexity and which role different management controls as a system play in such situations. Design/methodology/approach – A case study was conducted on a German Mittelstand firm whose MCSs were shaped by three different logics over time: a family logic, a stakeholder logic and a shareholder logic. Findings – This paper shows how different actors of an organisation confronted with institutional complexity used selective coupling of different MCS components and compartmentalizing MCS components to deal with clashing institutional logics. Thereby, it was possible for the actors to balance different sub-communities within the firm that were shaped by conflicting but yet complementary logics that were required for organisational survival. Research limitations/implications – This study contributes to the understanding of how an MCS can be exploited for organisational structural responses to multiple logics. Due to this research design, the present study deals with challenges of ex post rationalization. Practical implications – The results show options for organisational leaders to deal with different kind of worldviews (i.e. logics) that shape employees’ behaviour. Particularly, this paper explains how leaders can restructure their MCSs to influence human behaviour in times of radical change. Originality/value – This paper contributes to the literature on MCSs by showing what role MCSs play in structural responses to institutional complexity.

This study sheds light on how self‐developed local accounting and control systems (so‐called vernacular accounting systems; VAS) can influence knowledge integration in development processes of enabling global accounting and control systems. We focus on accounting and control systems as devices that enable local actors to build on codified knowledge to create “new” knowledge that can facilitate local problem solving. We argue that local actors would evaluate a proposed global system as enabling or coercive depending on both their ability to manipulate the knowledge codified within as well as the consequences that the codified knowledge has for their authority in the local knowledge creation process. Based on a case study of the development process of a global accounting and control system, we demonstrate that VAS can play a crucial role in both local actors’ evaluation of a proposed system (as points of reference) and their influence on knowledge integration (as knowledge transformation devices). Furthermore, local actors may continue to rely on their VAS if they realize that the proposed global system does not fit their needs. Local actors can thus use their VAS (as negotiation devices) to strengthen their position in the development process as counterparts to the global system designers because the “threat” of continuing to use the VAS may prompt system designers to integrate local knowledge into the proposed global system. We thus also suggest that, if made visible to others and actively mobilized, VAS may foster productive debates that facilitate the migration of local knowledge into global systems.

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Purpose -This study aims to consider how emerging management control systems (MCS) form the MCS package of start-up firms. Based on institutional theory, the authors aim to better understand reasons for introducing MCS and the reciprocity between the parts of the firm's overall MCS package. Design/methodology/approach -The authors apply a qualitative cross-sectional field study approach involving 74 interviews with key stakeholders in 20 young start-up firms with venture capital financing. Interview data are fully transcribed, analysed, checked, and triangulated. Findings -The results uncover the main constituents of start-up firms in three different institutional fields (nascent, start-up, post start-up), which substantially impact on the introduction of new MCS and the subsequent MCS packages. The introduction of formal MCS seems to be divided into different phases.Research limitations/implications -This study is subject to the limitations of case-based research. Moreover, the theoretical underpinning of institutional theory potentially underestimates the influence of agency on social behaviour and structures. Practical implications -The study highlights the major drivers of establishing a set of control systems through which the interests of different stakeholders are aligned. A multitude of concrete examples of managing controls are given, including reasons for their introduction and their effects. Originality/value -This paper sheds light on the introduction of MCS in young firms. This complements prior research, which has almost exclusively focused on MCS in more mature and established firms. Moreover, the authors deepen prior insights that are primarily focused on isolated formal components of MCS, by understanding MCS as a package.

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