Management control as a system: Integrating and extending theorizing on MC complementarity and institutional logics

Abstract

This abductive case study of MCS design change in a Swedish university shows how social and technical forms of control can be underpinned and held together by different institutional logics (forming so-called ‘socio-technical dyads of MC’), which gave them different, yet complementary functionalities to achieve organization-wide goals. Specifically, a since-long established neoliberal logic nurturing values of individualized freedom, market-based competition, and an entrepreneurial spirit was complemented with a programmatic logic nurturing the opposite values of centralized decision-making, and the homogenization and prioritization of research efforts. By integrating recent theorizing on MC complementarity and institutional logics when interpreting these findings, this study not only extends these literatures in several important respects, but also offers a novel way of conceptualizing MC as a system.