Workability of a Management Control Model in Service Organizations: A Comparative Study of Reactive, Proactive and Coactive Philosophies

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to compare and contrast the three philosophies of management control models used in the decision-making process, namely reactive, proactive and coactive. The research methodology was based on literature review and a descriptive/exploratory approach. Additionally, a survey of 20 service organizations was carried out in order to make the analysis wider reaching. In order to do that, the following steps were taken: firstly, the fundamentals of reactive, proactive and coactive models were highlighted; secondly, management behaviors in the three approaches were compared, with concepts and their practical applications being highlighted, thus information was gathered on managerial relationships in the organizations. In so doing, we drew the hypothesis that middle and top managers who, adopt control models that are distant from a more coactive one, usually spend a greater number of working hours on problem-solving, leaving little or no time for planning purposes. Finally, for study consolidation purposes, we have adopted qualitative data collection, whereby a content analysis was carried out under six categories. Results have shown the need for a change in management paradigms so that companies are not solely compared through financial perspectives, without considering the analysis of management control models which, as shown by the findings of this study, directly influence the operational results of organizations.