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Three Controls are Better than One: A Computational Model of Complex Control Systems

Author

Listed:
  • Chris P. Long

    (Washington University)

  • Richard M. Burton

    (Duke University)

  • Laura B. Cardinal

    (The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)

Abstract

This paper investigates theories that integrate and extend currently accepted agency- and transaction-based approaches to organizational control. We use a computational model to build three forms of control systems (market, bureaucratic, clan) and three forms of control targets (input, behavior, output). Using these models, we examine relationships between control systems and both singular and multiple control targets. Results of this study support the emerging “broader” perspective on organizational control research and suggest that managers can improve organizational performance by focusing attention on multiple control targets. In addition, findings partially support posited relationships between control systems and singular control targets. The authors suggest that results of this study should direct scholars to refocus control research from examinations of singular forms of control to evaluations of more complex control systems.

Suggested Citation

  • Chris P. Long & Richard M. Burton & Laura B. Cardinal, 2002. "Three Controls are Better than One: A Computational Model of Complex Control Systems," Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory, Springer, vol. 8(3), pages 197-220, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:comaot:v:8:y:2002:i:3:d:10.1023_a:1020767513183
    DOI: 10.1023/A:1020767513183
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Chris Akroyd & William Maguire, 2011. "The roles of management control in a product development setting," Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 8(3), pages 212-237, August.
    2. Laura B. Cardinal & Sim B. Sitkin & Chris P. Long, 2004. "Balancing and Rebalancing in the Creation and Evolution of Organizational Control," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 15(4), pages 411-431, August.
    3. Zuzana Jurská Tešovičová & Hana Krchová, 2022. "Implementation of Corporate Social Responsibility Environmental Actions in Comparison of Small, Medium, and Large Enterprises in the Slovak Republic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-21, May.
    4. Chris P. Long & Sim B. Sitkin & Laura B. Cardinal & Richard M. Burton, 2015. "How controls influence organizational information processing: insights from a computational modeling investigation," Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory, Springer, vol. 21(4), pages 406-436, December.
    5. Markus Kreutzer & Laura B. Cardinal & Jorge Walter & Christoph Lechner, 2016. "Formal and Informal Control as Complement or Substitute? The Role of the Task Environment," Strategy Science, INFORMS, vol. 1(4), pages 235-255, December.
    6. Yang, Feifei & Shinkle, George A. & Goudsmit, Mirjam, 2022. "The efficacy of organizational control interactions: External environmental uncertainty as a critical contingency," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 855-868.
    7. Richard M. Burton & Børge Obel, 2011. "Computational Modeling for What-Is, What-Might-Be, and What-Should-Be Studies---And Triangulation," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 22(5), pages 1195-1202, October.
    8. Christian Jung-Gehling & Erik Strauss, 2018. "A Contemporary Concept of Organizational Control: Its Dependence on Shared Values and Impact on Motivation," Schmalenbach Business Review, Springer;Schmalenbach-Gesellschaft, vol. 70(4), pages 341-374, November.
    9. Long, Chris P., 2018. "To control and build trust: How managers use organizational controls and trust-building activities to motivate subordinate cooperation," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 69-91.

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