IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/aosoci/v84y2020ics036136821830223x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Tone from the top in risk management: A complementarity perspective on how control systems influence risk awareness

Author

Listed:
  • Braumann, Evelyn C.
  • Grabner, Isabella
  • Posch, Arthur

Abstract

Prompted by the weaknesses of standardized risk-management approaches in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, scholars, regulators, and practitioners alike emphasize the importance of creating a risk-aware culture in organizations. Recent insights highlight the special role of tone from the top as a crucial driver of risk awareness. In this study, we take a systems perspective on control system design to investigate the role of tone from the top in creating risk awareness. In particular, we argue that both the interactive and the diagnostic use of budgets and performance measures interact with tone from the top in managing risk awareness. Our results show that interactive control strengthens the effect of tone from the top on risk awareness, whereas tone from the top and diagnostic control are empirically not interrelated with regard to creating risk awareness. To shed light on the boundary conditions of the proposed interdependencies, we further investigate whether the predicted interdependencies are sensitive to the level of perceived environmental uncertainty. We find that the effect of tone from the top and interactive control becomes significantly stronger in a situation of high perceived environmental uncertainty. Most interestingly, tone from the top and diagnostic control are complements with regard to risk awareness in settings of low perceived environmental uncertainty and substitutes at high levels of perceived environmental uncertainty.

Suggested Citation

  • Braumann, Evelyn C. & Grabner, Isabella & Posch, Arthur, 2020. "Tone from the top in risk management: A complementarity perspective on how control systems influence risk awareness," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:aosoci:v:84:y:2020:i:c:s036136821830223x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.aos.2020.101128
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S036136821830223X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.aos.2020.101128?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Erwin Danneels, 2008. "Organizational antecedents of second‐order competences," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(5), pages 519-543, May.
    2. Andrew H. Van de Ven, 1986. "Central Problems in the Management of Innovation," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 32(5), pages 590-607, May.
    3. García-Granero, Ana & Llopis, Óscar & Fernández-Mesa, Anabel & Alegre, Joaquín, 2015. "Unraveling the link between managerial risk-taking and innovation: The mediating role of a risk-taking climate," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 68(5), pages 1094-1104.
    4. Justin J. P. Jansen & Frans A. J. Van Den Bosch & Henk W. Volberda, 2006. "Exploratory Innovation, Exploitative Innovation, and Performance: Effects of Organizational Antecedents and Environmental Moderators," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 52(11), pages 1661-1674, November.
    5. Sinan Aral & Erik Brynjolfsson & Lynn Wu, 2012. "Three-Way Complementarities: Performance Pay, Human Resource Analytics, and Information Technology," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 58(5), pages 913-931, May.
    6. Widener, Sally K., 2007. "An empirical analysis of the levers of control framework," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 32(7-8), pages 757-788.
    7. Tom Aabo & John R. S. Fraser & Betty J. Simkins, 2005. "The Rise and Evolution of the Chief Risk Officer: Enterprise Risk Management at Hydro One," Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Morgan Stanley, vol. 17(3), pages 62-75, June.
    8. Fayard, Dutch & Lee, Lorraine S. & Leitch, Robert A. & Kettinger, William J., 2012. "Effect of internal cost management, information systems integration, and absorptive capacity on inter-organizational cost management in supply chains," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 168-187.
    9. Danny Miller & Jean-Marie Toulouse, 1986. "Chief Executive Personality and Corporate Strategy and Structure in Small Firms," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 32(11), pages 1389-1409, November.
    10. Bedford, David S. & Malmi, Teemu & Sandelin, Mikko, 2016. "Management control effectiveness and strategy: An empirical analysis of packages and systems," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 12-28.
    11. Govindarajan, V., 1984. "Appropriateness of accounting data in performance evaluation: An empirical examination of environmental uncertainty as an intervening variable," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 9(2), pages 125-135, June.
    12. Coltman, Tim & Devinney, Timothy M. & Midgley, David F. & Venaik, Sunil, 2008. "Formative versus reflective measurement models: Two applications of formative measurement," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 61(12), pages 1250-1262, December.
    13. Mikes, Anette, 2011. "From counting risk to making risk count: Boundary-work in risk management," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 226-245.
    14. Eva Maria Falkner & Martin R.W. Hiebl, 2015. "Risk management in SMEs: a systematic review of available evidence," Journal of Risk Finance, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 16(2), pages 122-144, March.
    15. Josep Bisbe & Ricardo Malagueno, 2009. "The Choice of Interactive Control Systems under Different Innovation Management Modes," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(2), pages 371-405.
    16. Chenhall, Robert H., 2003. "Management control systems design within its organizational context: findings from contingency-based research and directions for the future," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 28(2-3), pages 127-168.
    17. James R. Detert & Linda K. Treviño, 2010. "Speaking Up to Higher-Ups: How Supervisors and Skip-Level Leaders Influence Employee Voice," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 21(1), pages 249-270, February.
    18. Hartmann, Frank G. H. & Moers, Frank, 1999. "Testing contingency hypotheses in budgetary research: an evaluation of the use of moderated regression analysis," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 24(4), pages 291-315, May.
    19. Grabner, Isabella & Moers, Frank, 2013. "Management control as a system or a package? Conceptual and empirical issues," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 38(6), pages 407-419.
    20. Milgrom, Paul & Roberts, John, 1995. "Complementarities and fit strategy, structure, and organizational change in manufacturing," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(2-3), pages 179-208, April.
    21. Gordon, Lawrence A. & Loeb, Martin P. & Tseng, Chih-Yang, 2009. "Enterprise risk management and firm performance: A contingency perspective," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 28(4), pages 301-327, July.
    22. Arnold, Markus & Artz, Martin, 2019. "The use of a single budget or separate budgets for planning and performance evaluation," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 50-67.
    23. Van de Ven, Andrew R., 1986. "Central Problems in the Management of Innovation," Agricultural Research Policy Seminar 139708, University of Minnesota Extension.
    24. Angela Zeier Roeschmann, 2014. "Risk Culture: What It Is and How It Affects an Insurer's Risk Management," Risk Management and Insurance Review, American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 17(2), pages 277-296, September.
    25. Henri, Jean-Francois, 2006. "Management control systems and strategy: A resource-based perspective," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 31(6), pages 529-558, August.
    26. Leen Paape & Roland F. Spekl�, 2012. "The Adoption and Design of Enterprise Risk Management Practices: An Empirical Study," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(3), pages 533-564, January.
    27. Bruno Cassiman & Reinhilde Veugelers, 2006. "In Search of Complementarity in Innovation Strategy: Internal R& D and External Knowledge Acquisition," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 52(1), pages 68-82, January.
    28. Mundy, Julia, 2010. "Creating dynamic tensions through a balanced use of management control systems," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 35(5), pages 499-523, July.
    29. Beasley, Mark S. & Clune, Richard & Hermanson, Dana R., 2005. "Enterprise risk management: An empirical analysis of factors associated with the extent of implementation," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 24(6), pages 521-531.
    30. Bisbe, Josep & Batista-Foguet, Joan-Manuel & Chenhall, Robert, 2007. "Defining management accounting constructs: A methodological note on the risks of conceptual misspecification," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 32(7-8), pages 789-820.
    31. Dane M. Christensen & Dan S. Dhaliwal & Steven Boivie & Scott D. Graffin, 2015. "Top management conservatism and corporate risk strategies: Evidence from managers' personal political orientation and corporate tax avoidance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(12), pages 1918-1938, December.
    32. Hope, Ole-Kristian & Wang, Jingjing, 2018. "Management deception, big-bath accounting, and information asymmetry: Evidence from linguistic analysis," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 33-51.
    33. Brian Shapiro, 2016. "Using Traditional Narratives and Other Narrative Devices to Enact Humanizing Business Practices," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 139(1), pages 1-19, November.
    34. Bisbe, Josep & Otley, David, 2004. "The effects of the interactive use of management control systems on product innovation," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 29(8), pages 709-737, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Marta Pérez Sigüenza & Laura Rodríguez-León Rodríguez & Juan Manuel Ramon Jeronimo & Raquel Flórez López, 2022. "Management Control Systems and International Entrepreneurship in Small, Young Firms from Resource-Based Theory, Contingence, and Effectuation Approach Perspectives," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-23, August.
    2. Bürgel, Tobias R. & Hiebl, Martin R.W. & Pielsticker, David I., 2023. "Digitalization and entrepreneurial firms' resilience to pandemic crises: Evidence from COVID-19 and the German Mittelstand," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 186(PA).
    3. Adrian-Cosmin Caraiman, 2020. "Responsibility for Internal Control in Corporate Governance," Ovidius University Annals, Economic Sciences Series, Ovidius University of Constantza, Faculty of Economic Sciences, vol. 0(2), pages 612-618, December.
    4. Julia Riepl & Christine Mitter & Michael Kuttner, 2024. "Risk management during the COVID-19 crisis: insights from an exploratory case study of medium-sized family businesses," Journal of Management Control: Zeitschrift für Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, Springer, vol. 35(1), pages 109-135, March.
    5. Chen, Clara Xiaoling & Lill, Jeremy B. & Lucianetti, Lorenzo, 2023. "Performance measurement system diversity and product innovation: Evidence from longitudinal survey data," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    6. Ashish Varma & Adnan Khan, 2023. "Simons levers of control disentangled: A quasi-experiment into the competitiveness of hybrid firms," MANAGEMENT CONTROL, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2023(2), pages 19-41.
    7. Christoph Feichter & Isabella Grabner, 2020. "Empirische Forschung zu Management Control – Ein Überblick und neue Trends [Empirical Management Control Reserach—An Overview and Future Directions]," Schmalenbach Journal of Business Research, Springer, vol. 72(2), pages 149-181, June.
    8. Marcel Röser, 2024. "More certainty in uncertainty: a special life-cycle approach for management decisions in volatile markets," Journal of Management Control: Zeitschrift für Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, Springer, vol. 35(1), pages 165-197, March.
    9. Martin R. W. Hiebl, 2024. "The integration of risk into management control systems: towards a deeper understanding across multiple levels of analysis," Journal of Management Control: Zeitschrift für Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, Springer, vol. 35(1), pages 1-16, March.
    10. Julia Eichholz & Nicole Hoffmann & Anja Schwering, 2024. "The role of risk management orientation and the planning function of budgeting in enhancing organizational resilience and its effect on competitive advantages during times of crises," Journal of Management Control: Zeitschrift für Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, Springer, vol. 35(1), pages 17-58, March.
    11. Yi Zhang & Peng Mao & Hongyang Li & Yuxin Xu & Dan You & Hui Liu & Wei Huang & Jingfeng Yuan, 2020. "Assessing the Safety Risks of Civil Engineering Laboratories Based on Lab Criticity Index: A Case Study in Jiangsu Province," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(17), pages 1-24, August.
    12. Jacobo Gomez‐Conde & Ernesto Lopez‐Valeiras & Ricardo Malagueño & José Carlos Tiomatsu Oyadomari, 2022. "Quality of performance metrics, informal peer monitoring and goal commitment," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(3), pages 4041-4077, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Posch, Arthur, 2020. "Integrating risk into control system design: The complementarity between risk-focused results controls and risk-focused information sharing," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    2. Bedford, David S. & Malmi, Teemu & Sandelin, Mikko, 2016. "Management control effectiveness and strategy: An empirical analysis of packages and systems," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 12-28.
    3. Müller-Stewens, Benedikt & Widener, Sally K. & Möller, Klaus & Steinmann, Jan-Christoph, 2020. "The role of diagnostic and interactive control uses in innovation," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    4. Erkki K. Laitinen & Aapo Länsiluoto & Soila Salonen, 2016. "Interactive budgeting, product innovation, and firm performance: empirical evidence from Finnish firms," Journal of Management Control: Zeitschrift für Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, Springer, vol. 27(4), pages 293-322, November.
    5. Bellora-Bienengräber, Lucia & Derfuss, Klaus & Endrikat, Jan, 2023. "Taking stock of research on the levers of control with meta-analytic methods: Stylized facts and boundary conditions," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    6. Gerdin, Jonas & Johansson, Tobias & Wennblom, Gabriella, 2019. "The contingent nature of complementarity between results and value-based controls for managing company-level profitability: A situational strength perspective," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    7. Demartini, Maria Chiara & Otley, David, 2020. "Beyond the system vs. package dualism in Performance Management Systems design: A loose coupling approach," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    8. Chenhall, Robert H. & Moers, Frank, 2015. "The role of innovation in the evolution of management accounting and its integration into management control," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 1-13.
    9. Johansson, Tobias, 2018. "Testing for control system interdependence with structural equation modeling: Conceptual developments and evidence on the levers of control framework," Journal of Accounting Literature, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 47-62.
    10. Ossi Pesämaa, 2017. "Personnel- and action control in gazelle companies in Sweden," Journal of Management Control: Zeitschrift für Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, Springer, vol. 28(1), pages 107-132, February.
    11. Masschelein, Stijn & Moers, Frank, 2020. "Testing for complementarities between accounting practices," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    12. Sebastian Goebel & Barbara E. Weißenberger, 2017. "Effects of management control mechanisms: towards a more comprehensive analysis," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 87(2), pages 185-219, February.
    13. Mojca Marc & Marika Arena & Darja Peljhan, 2023. "The role of interactive style of use in improving risk management effectiveness," Risk Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 25(2), pages 1-21, June.
    14. Grabner, Isabella & Moers, Frank, 2013. "Management control as a system or a package? Conceptual and empirical issues," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 38(6), pages 407-419.
    15. Teemu Malmi & David S. Bedford & Rolf Brühl & Johan Dergård & Sophie Hoozée & Otto Janschek & Jeanette Willert, 2022. "The use of management controls in different cultural regions: an empirical study of Anglo-Saxon, Germanic and Nordic practices," Journal of Management Control: Zeitschrift für Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, Springer, vol. 33(3), pages 273-334, September.
    16. Ewelina Zarzycka & Justyna Dobroszek & Lauri Lepistö & Sinikka Moilanen, 2019. "Coexistence of innovation and standardization: evidence from the lean environment of business process outsourcing," Journal of Management Control: Zeitschrift für Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, Springer, vol. 30(3), pages 251-286, October.
    17. Stefan Hofmann & Andreas Wald & Ronald Gleich, 2012. "Determinants and effects of the diagnostic and interactive use of control systems: an empirical analysis on the use of budgets," Metrika: International Journal for Theoretical and Applied Statistics, Springer, vol. 23(3), pages 153-182, December.
    18. Abernethy, Margaret A. & Anderson, Shannon W. & Nair, Sujay & Jiang, Yile (Anson), 2021. "Manager ‘growth mindset’ and resource management practices," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    19. Bellora-Bienengräber, Lucia & Radtke, Robin R. & Widener, Sally K., 2022. "Counterproductive work behaviors and work climate: The role of an ethically focused management control system and peers’ self-focused behavior," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    20. Emer Curtis & Breda Sweeney, 2017. "Managing different types of innovation: mutually reinforcing management control systems and the generation of dynamic tension," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(3), pages 313-343, April.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:aosoci:v:84:y:2020:i:c:s036136821830223x. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/aos .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.