Getting control of multi-project organizations: Combining contingent control mechanisms

Abstract

The literature on management control has expanded considerably in the past few decades, yet only a limited number of publications have been devoted to multi-project organizations (MPOs). This is somewhat a problem given the increasing rise and importance of project-based structures and the role of project management as a significant part of many firms' management control system. This paper elaborates on a contingency framework of management control in MPOs and aims at investigating the control issues that call for holistic frameworks of control mechanisms. Relying on a comparative case study, the analysis shows how control mechanisms are deployed and what implications different choices of management control systems have on the organizational structure of MPOs. In particular, the paper addresses the importance technical complementarities, and the role of ‘project interdependencies’ and ‘project openness’ for the design of management control system.