Principal Leadership Style and School Performance: Mediating Roles of Risk Management Culture and Management Control Systems Use in Australian Schools

Abstract

This study examines the mediating role of organisational control features, namely performance-oriented risk management (RM) culture and the use of management control systems (MCS) in the relationship between school principal leadership styles and school performance within Australia. Based on survey responses from 106 Victorian secondary school principals, the study finds that performance-oriented RM culture and enabling use of MCS play important mediating roles in the leadership style and school performance link. The findings also indicate that private schools are more likely to adopt a performance-oriented RM culture than public schools. Our results extend organisational management and accounting literature linking leadership style, organisational controls and organisational performance in a school context. The findings also have implications for school governance policies.