How Does Management Control Contribute to Achieving Competing Demands? A Longitudinal Case Study of the Process of Managing Tensions

Abstract

This study aims to reveal the mechanisms by which multiple management control (MC) practices realize competing demands. It is characterized by (1) capturing specific and non-aggregate MC practices, (2) capturing a bird’s eye view of tensions, and (3) tracing the developmental process of MC practices during the phase of switching from pursuing one to the other of the opposing elements. The results of the longitudinal case study indicate that MC practices with the characteristics of subsumption, suppression and separation contribute to achieve competing demands by balancing the three tensions manifested at different levels of the organization. This study contributes to previous research by explaining which characteristics of MC practices are required for tension management and why.