Moving with the times: A new perspective on organizational control

Abstract

In this paper, we propose that current technological trends in organizational and work environments necessitate a new perspective on organizational control. While we have witnessed dramatic shifts in, and a massive transformation of, organizational and work life since the beginning of the 21st century, our theories and frameworks focused on organizational control have not undergone corresponding updates. This has both preserved and masked limitations of traditional approaches to organizational control. Addressing these limitations, we provide a synthesis of the key assumptions and dimensions underlying existing organizational control research; theorize how current trends in technological and organizational environments require us to re-examine or even relax a number of assumptions underlying organizational control theory; and develop a novel set of propositions that help us advance a reconceptualization of organizational control for contemporary organizational realities.