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Beyond the systems versus package debate

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  • Merchant, Kenneth A.
  • Otley, David

Abstract

This discussion paper outlines the wider context from which the systems versus package debate has emerged, and draws on the papers included in this Special Issue to make suggestions for future progress. It argues that much research work has focused on narrow aspects of management control systems and has often detached these from their wider organizational contexts, diminishing its value. Researchers should recognize that management control systems are complex in themselves, and they interact in complex ways with the settings in which they are used. We describe various consequences of this situation and provide suggestions as to how research can be improved. We conclude that there is a need for more field-based studies by academics who are better connected with the world of practice. Only in this way will our research work both lead to better, more reliable, theories of MCS design and use and also be useful to practitioners.

Suggested Citation

  • Merchant, Kenneth A. & Otley, David, 2020. "Beyond the systems versus package debate," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:aosoci:v:86:y:2020:i:c:s0361368220300696
    DOI: 10.1016/j.aos.2020.101185
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    2. Stefan Bezuidenhout & Charl de Villiers & Ruth Dimes, 2023. "How management control systems can enable, constrain, and embed integrated reporting," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 63(4), pages 4251-4273, December.
    3. 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).
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    5. Manthei, Kathrin & Sliwka, Dirk & Vogelsang, Timo, 2021. "Information Provision, Incentives, and Attention: A Field Experiment on Facilitating and Influencing Managers' Decisions," IZA Discussion Papers 14199, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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