Organizational Control Mechanisms Research Articles

Are perceptions of organizational communication color-blind?

With the global trend to prioritize tailoring communication strategies to meet the ever-changing diverse workforce, the study reveals a more nuanced reality. While much focus is placed on addressing communication differences, this papers position is that not enough focus is on our basic human need to communicate. This paper aims to evaluate whether certain aspects of the flow of information and communication are racially shared perceptions. Furthermore, through a Chaos Theory lens, evaluate the influence of managerial and organizational control mechanisms on various internal communication perceptions. A quantitative method was adopted, and data was collected from 63 non-management respondents in an automotive group in Kwa-Zulu Natal, by a closed-ended 5-point Likert scale. Data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics to identify racially shared and divergent perceptions of organizational communication and the statistically significance. Key findings conclude that the free and accurate flow of information is a shared perception, regardless of race, and thus, a basic human need. Furthermore, the study demonstrates the significant influence managerial and organizational control mechanisms have on aspects of organizational communication, and challenges current academic positions that similar race dyads experience higher levels of trust. Finally, the paper concludes that the significant negative perception to control mechanisms, such as informal idea-sharing processes, flexible communication between levels, and active participation in SOPs and policy development, is a racially shared perception.

The Effect of Ethical Climate and Organizational Control Mechanisms on Work Engagement: A Research in the Civil Aviation Sector

The Effect of Ethical Climate and Organizational Control Mechanisms on Work Engagement: A Research in the Civil Aviation Sector

Involving Youth in the Development of Civil Society in Ukraine by Applying Mechanisms of Information Communication and Control in Times of War

The author of the study developed a structural-functional model of the development of civil society in Ukraine, taking into account the directions of active participation of young people in the modern political process and public life. This structural-functional model provides for establishing complex relations between youth as an active part of Ukrainian society and state and local self-government bodies in order to ensure an effective state-building process, stimulate volunteerism and participation of civil society organizations in socio-economic development and ensure the national security of Ukraine in conditions of European integration and the Russian-Ukrainian war. The elements of the proposed system - the structural-functional model, are information communication, political, legal, organizational control mechanisms as well as mechanism of managing the development of education and science. The author concludes that the activation of civil society in Ukraine and the strengthening of its role and importance in social and political life in 2014-2015, as well as in 2022 after the full-scale invasion of Russia in Ukraine is a decisive positive factor in improving the information communication, and control mechanisms of civil society development.

Total Quality Management and Managerial Performance: The Role of Innovation Performance and Budget Participation as Moderating Variables

Management accounting systems can be used as an organizational control mechanism and an effective tool for managers to control their activities and reduce environmental uncertainty in order to achieve organizational goals successfully. The aim of this research is to analyze the influence of TQM on managerial performance and on managerial performance when moderated by innovation performance and budget participation. The type of research used in this research is quantitative research using survey methods. The population in this study were employees from several companies operating in the customer goods sector. The sample in this research was selected using a purposive sampling method which is non-probability sampling where the sample is selected according to criteria so that it can support the research. The criteria for this sampling are managers or heads at manager level who have been involved in the budget preparation process. The research method used in this article is moderation regression analysis. The findings in this research show that TQM has a positive effect on managerial performance, the same results when innovation performance becomes a moderating variable on the relationship between TQM and managerial performance, while budget participation cannot moderate the relationship between TQM and managerial performance. This research has the implication that up to now TQM can still effectively improve managerial performance in a company, especially when strengthened by the strength of human resources in following technological developments, the desire to innovate.

Taxonomy of Organizational Design Models and Organizational Performance

Organizational design irrespective of a particular operating model attempts to define the relationships among organizational people, jobs, and departments. It is therefore, a matter of grouping of jobs into functions and divisions. To this important extent, organizational structure is the vehicle through which managers can coordinate the activities of the various functions or divisions to fully exploit their skills and capabilities through integration. Organizational design in terms of structure, departmentalization, differentiation and function is central to organizational performance because when people who perform similar jobs are grouped together, they can learn from observing one another and thus become more specialized and can perform at a higher level in the organization. On the other hand, span of management is an important issue in managerial taxonomy because of the need for attention to the ability and capacity of both the physical, mental, psychological, and emotional requirements of both managers and subordinates in the drive for performance. Thus, effective organizational design goes beyond structures, functions or architecture to embrace the organizational culture and philosophy regarding employees and their job requirements. It involves selecting a combination of organizational system, suitable technology, and control mechanisms that are appropriate for an organization to pursue its strategy most effectively and leading to organizational performance, which means overall performance in terms of quality, profitability, employee and customer satisfaction. The literature review technique of the exploratory research design was adopted for this study, and a positive association was found between organizational design and organizational performance. This investigation was not exhaustive mainly due to lack of current relevant literature. Further study could therefore, examine the relationship between Weberian theory of bureaucracy and organizational performance in the changing management world. This study recommends that organizational leadership should encourage free flow of communication in their organizations to enhance organizational performance.

Technology vs privacy at work

Employees' right to privacy and employers' extensive need for work-related information collide. The imbalance of authority between employers and employees and the doctrine of managerial prerogative determines the outcome of these competing interests, and therefore the right to privacy requires statutory protection. The study aims to examine the legislative (hard law) and law enforcement (soft law) achievements of European and Hungarian initiatives on organizational labor control mechanisms and to understand their possible limitations concerning the doctrine of managerial prerogative. The research method was a thematic document and literature review of appropriate legislation and case law records from the European Court of Human Rights, the Hungarian Supreme Court, and the Hungarian National Authority for Data Protection and Freedom of Information. The research results confirmed our hypothesis: current legal instruments seem to limit the control mechanisms of organizations, both in terms of content and process. However, rapid technological innovations make employee privacy a moving target, where the law provides only temporary and limited protection.

Digital Transformation and Green Innovation of Chinese Firms: The Moderating Role of Regulatory Pressure and International Opportunities.

The digitalization of business processes has increasingly challenged conventional wisdom in corporate green innovation. This empirical paper studies the timely but theoretically underexplored relationship between digital transformation and green innovation in a developing country context. Given that firms’ digital transformation shifts organizational structures toward decentralization, we employ a digital perspective to analyze organizational coordination, control, and learning mechanisms and propose that digital transformation positively affects corporate green innovation. Moreover, drawing on structural contingency theory, we demonstrate that such effects can be strengthened by external contingencies, specifically regulatory pressure and international opportunities. Using a dataset of Chinese listed firms, we find empirical support for our hypotheses. Our study is one of the first to examine how firms can leverage organizational digital transformation to enhance their green innovation performance and thus provides new insights into the drivers of sustainable practices for firms in developing countries.

How to Channel Knowledge Coproduction Behavior in an Online Community

Generally with ambiguous role definitions and without traditional organizational control or coordination mechanisms, how do knowledge coproduction behaviors of participants with heterogeneity roles in online community are channeled for value creation? By using a novel theory-building method combining machine learning and narrative analysis, we investigate the heterogeneity of participant roles and knowledge coproduction channeling behaviors in a Chinese self-organizing online community—Miui.com, launched by Xiaomi Inc. Using latent Dirichlet allocation topic modeling analysis and a complementary qualitative analysis of community participants’ online forum posts, we initially identify three types of participant role in the community, namely, leaders, supporters, and integrators, and find that (a) conceptualizing narrative practice is adopted to promote knowledge collaboration for leaders; (b) serializing and anthologizing narrative practices are used to promote knowledge collaboration for supporters; and (c) anthologizing narrative practice is adopted to promote knowledge collaboration for integrators. Our study advances the theoretical understanding of the knowledge coproduction and value creation in online communities.

How to channel knowledge coproduction behavior in an online community: Combining machine learning and narrative analysis

With ambiguous role definitions and without traditional organizational control or coordination mechanisms, how could online community channel knowledge coproduction behaviors among participants with heterogeneity roles? By using a novel theory-building method combining machine learning and narrative analysis, we investigate the heterogeneity of participant roles and knowledge coproduction channeling behaviors in a Chinese self-organizing online community—Miui.com, launched by Xiaomi Inc. Using latent Dirichlet allocation topic modeling analysis and a complementary qualitative analysis of community participants' online forum posts, we initially identify three types of participant role in the community: leaders, supporters, and integrators, and find that (a) conceptualizing narrative practice is adopted to promote knowledge collaboration for leaders; (b) serializing and anthologizing narrative practices are used to promote knowledge collaboration for supporters; and (c) anthologizing narrative practice is adopted to promote knowledge collaboration for integrators. Our study advances the theoretical understanding of the knowledge coproduction and value creation in online communities.

Совершенствование механизмов управления затратами в логистических цепях строительной отрасли

The article examines the issue of improving the cost management mechanism in the supply chains of the construction industry, which in recent years has the potential for the rapid development of the Uzbekistan economy. In the course of the study, based on data analysis, the state of changes in construction work at the republican level was studied, an analysis was made of the volume of work performed by regions of the country. A model of market relations in the construction industry is proposed, based on the fact that the control mechanisms of this model consist of organizational and economic mechanisms developed in each direction, the main task of organizational and economic control mechanisms is to ensure the efficiency of the process by influencing the control object.

Abstract Versus Concrete: How Managers’ Construal Influences Organizational Control Systems and Problem Solving

This research considers how frontline managers’ construal affects their conceptualization of organizational problems, which in turn influences how they incentivize employees to search out appropriate solutions. Depending on whether they conceptualize problems in more abstract or more concrete ways, frontline managers will vary in organizational control mechanisms they use to incentivize their employees to engage in exploration and exploitation. Based on these relationships, we expect the solutions achieved by employees to vary in terms of efficiency and effectiveness. Using a database of 267 projects in a single firm, we find that, after holding project attributes constant, concrete-oriented managers tend to utilize more process controls that lead employees to solve organizational problems more efficiently, whereas abstract-oriented managers tend toward use of more outcome controls that lead to more effective problem solving. When employees engage in ambidextrous learning, both effectiveness and efficiency of outcomes are enhanced. This research sheds light on important microfoundational influences on organizational outcomes.

Competing logics in a hybrid organization: ICT service provision in the Italian health care sector

PurposeThis paper reports an investigation of a hybrid ex-state-owned enterprise (ex-SOE) providing ICT (Information and Communication Technology) services in the Italian healthcare sector (in-house provision). The authors aim to offer a framing that reflects the concerns expressed in the interdisciplinary literature on hybrid SOEs from management, public administration and, more recently, accounting.Design/methodology/approachThis study operationalizes Besharov and Smith’s (2014) theoretical model on multiple logics to analyze institutional structures and organizational outcomes at an ICT in-house provider. It builds on extensive textual analysis of regulatory, archival, survey and interview data.FindingsThe study results show that the combination of hybridity in the form of layering of multiple logics in the health care sector (Polzer et al., 2016) creates problems for the effectiveness of ICT provision. In particular, the hybrid organization the authors study remained stuck in established competing relationships despite a restructure of regional health care governance. The study findings also reflect on the design of organizational control mechanisms when balancing different logics.Research limitations/implicationsThe identified case-study accountability practices and performance system add to the debate on hybrid organizations in the case of ex-SOEs and facilitate the understanding and management of hybrids in the public sector. The authors note policymaking implications.Originality/valueThe authors’ operationalization of Besharov and Smith's (2014) model adds clarity to key elements of their model, notably how to identify evidence in order to disentangle notions of centrality and compatibility. By doing this, the authors’ analysis offers potential insights into both managerial design and policy prescription. The authors provide cautionary tales around institutional reorganization regarding the layered synthesis of logics within these organizations.

Knowledge assets, capabilities and performance measurement systems: a resource orchestration theory approach

PurposeThe pivotal role of knowledge management (KM) and its extensive implications have been debated in the academic literature with insufficient focus on its link to particular organizational control mechanisms such as performance measurement systems (PMS). To bridge this gap and building on resource orchestration theory, this paper aims to investigate the relationships between KM factors, PMS and corporate performance.Design/methodology/approachBased on a survey data set of 92 listed companies in Iran, the framework and hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling (SEM) based on partial least squares (PLS).FindingsThe SEM-PLS results indicate that knowledge assets are significantly associated with both PMS and corporate performance while knowledge process capabilities (KPC) are not significantly associated with PMS and corporate performance. This study also shows that PMS mediates the relationship between knowledge assets and corporate performance.Practical implicationsThe results suggest that the use of appropriate management control systems plays an effective role in synchronizing, aligning and orchestrating a company’s various knowledge resources, which, in turn, can lead to superior overall performance.Originality/valueBuilding on a unique synthesis of resource orchestration theory and the knowledge-based view of the firm, the results of this study provide the first empirical evidence on how PMS intervenes in the relationship between knowledge resources (knowledge assets and KPC) and corporate performance.

Assessing the Moderating Effect of Security Technologies on Employees Compliance with Cybersecurity Control Procedures

The increase in cybersecurity threats and the challenges for organisations to protect their information technology assets has made adherence to organisational security control processes and procedures a critical issue that needs to be adequately addressed. Drawing insight from organisational theory literature, we develop a multi-theory model, combining the elements of the theory of planned behaviour, competing value framework, and technology—organisational and environmental theory to examine how the organisational mechanisms interact with espoused cultural values and employee cognitive belief to influence cybersecurity control procedures. Using a structured questionnaire, we deployed structural equation modelling (SEM) to analyse the survey data obtained from public sector information technology organisations in Nigeria to test the hypothesis on the relationship of socio-organisational mechanisms and techno-cultural factors with other key determinants of employee security behaviour. The results showed that knowledge of cybersecurity and employee cognitive belief significantly influence the employees’ intentions to comply with organisational cybersecurity control mechanisms. The research further noted that the influence of organisational elements such as leadership on employee security behaviour is mediated by espoused cultural values while the impact of employee cognitive belief is moderated by security technologies. For effective cybersecurity compliance, leaders and policymakers are therefore to promote organisational security initiatives that ensure incorporation of cybersecurity principles and practices into job descriptions, routines, and processes. This study contributes to behavioural security research by highlighting the critical role of leadership and cultural values in fostering organisational adherence to prescribed security control mechanisms.

The Unfolding of Control Mechanisms inside Organizations: Pathways of Customization and Transmutation

Organizational control is a fundamental function of all organizations. Drawing on ethnographic data from one hospital implementing a new behavioral control mechanism across multiple internal units, I explore how control mechanisms spread and unfold inside organizations. This study shows that control mechanisms are co-created through interactions between managers and employees as they engage in an iterative team learning process in two stages: (1) learning about the mandated control mechanism in order to assess its viability in their local context; and (2) learning how to (re)design the control mechanism so that it delivers its intended control outcomes. It also identifies two pathways through which control mechanisms unfold. Along the customization pathway, teams customize the mandated control mechanism so that it functions well in their context. Along the transmutation pathway, teams develop their own locally designed alternative control mechanism to achieve the intended control outcomes based on their own assessment of their unit’s problems. By showing how organizational control mechanisms are co-created by management and employees, this study provides a dynamic view of how control mechanisms spread and unfold within organizations.

Organizational Control: New Perspectives and Future Directions

Control is “management’s most fundamental problem” (Van Maanen and Barley 1984: 290), and issues relating to control are apparent in many facets of organizational life such as organizational design, organizational culture, and everyday organizational routines. However, theory on organizational control has not kept pace with changes in both organizations and their environments. This may partially reflect the segmentation of control research from research on related theoretical concepts. Therefore, to advance our understanding of organizational control, this symposium aims to integrate a variety of theoretical perspectives — such as organizational learning, organizational change, and technology in the workplace – with more traditional organizational control theory. By integrating a variety of theoretical perspectives, we hope to both move forward current theory on organizational control while also encouraging scholars to broaden their understanding of what comprises and constitutes organizational control research. Co-Creation of Organizational Control Mechanisms as a Learning Process Presenter: Jillian Chown; Northwestern Kellogg School of Management When Change Agents Change Their Minds: Network Diffusion and the Failure of Organizational Change Presenter: Julien Clement; Stanford U. Presenter: Vibha Gaba; INSEAD Bringing Workers Back In: Employees’ Varied Responses to Strategic Change and Accompanying Controls Presenter: Vanessa Conzon; Massachusetts Institute of Technology Resistance in the Age of Algorithms: A Comparative Ethnography of Workers’ Resistance Presenter: Lindsey Cameron; The Wharton School, U. of Pennsylvania Presenter: Hatim A. Rahman; Northwestern Kellogg School of Management

Strategic investment decision-making practices in large manufacturing companies

Strategic investment decision-making practices in large manufacturing companies

State ownership and securities fraud: A political governance perspective

AbstractResearch question/issueThis study attempts to shed new light on how the state as a controlling shareholder can affect the interests of minority shareholders by investigating the role of state ownership in deterring securities fraud commission.Research findings/insightsUsing archival data from a large sample of Chinese publicly traded firms, we uncover that state ownership is negatively associated with the likelihood of securities fraud commission. Further, CEO political background reinforces this negative relationship. We also uncover that firms with high state ownership are more likely to dismiss CEOs than those with low or no state ownership upon securities fraud detection.Theoretical/academic implicationsDeparting from agency theory‐centric research on state ownership and corporate governance, this study introduces a political governance perspective to unpack the role of state ownership in corporate governance. Political governance refers to organizational control mechanisms deployed by political actors to achieve their objectives.Practitioner/policy implicationsStudying how political governance systems influence managerial behaviors is critical to gaining a complete insight into the implications of state ownership on corporate governance.

Boundary spanner relational behavior and inter-organizational control in supply chain relationships

Boundary spanner relational behavior is considered critical in the successful management of buyer–supplier relationships and may help avoiding high costs of more formal inter-organizational controls. Yet, the influence of partners' boundary spanners on effective supply chain collaboration has had much less inquiry than the influence of broader inter-organizational controls. We use survey data of 200 buyer–supplier relationships to examine how these individual and organizational control mechanisms influence the performance effects of interfirm collaborations that vary in scope of activities undertaken. Findings show that collaboration scope as well as boundary spanner relational behavior and inter-organizational controls are positively associated with performance. The effect of collaboration scope on firm performance, however, also depends on both mechanisms but in opposite directions: while its influence on performance is enhanced by inter-organizational controls, relational behavior of partners' boundary spanners has a negative moderating effect, indicating that such behavior contributes more to the effective management of collaborations of narrow scope than those of broader scope.

Matching organizational climate and control mechanisms for fast strategic change in transitional economics

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore how organizational climate impacts the speed of strategic change (SSC) for firms in transitional economies and whether if the effects were contingent on internal control mechanisms.Design/methodology/approachA theoretical model including five constructs is developed. The questionnaire survey is deployed to scale main constructs, including organizational climate, such as open communication and hierarchical bureaucracy, internal controls such as strategic and financial control, and SSC. The moderation regression method in five steps is employed to test all hypotheses using the survey data from the 120 sampled Chinese firms.FindingsThe findings show that open communication has a positive effect on SCC, whereas hierarchical bureaucracy has a negative effect on SSC. Furthermore, strategic control positively moderates the relationship between open communication and SSC but negatively moderates the relationship between hierarchical bureaucracy and SSC; meanwhile, financial control negatively moderates the relationship between open communication and SSC but positively moderates the relationship between hierarchical bureaucracy and SSC.Originality/valueThis research integrates organizational climate and internal control mechanisms into the framework of strategic change to investigate how firms achieve fast strategic change through aligning organizational climate with proper organizational control mechanisms. The findings advance the authors’ understanding of the organizational climate, internal controls, and strategic change literature, and offer valuable managerial insights for managers in situations when strategic change is of central importance in the transitional economies.