Management Control Systems’ Function in Innovation: Development, Applications, and Perspectives from Current Research.
This paper has explored the evolutionary relationship between Management Control Systems and innovation to understand how MCSs can motivate, rather than stifle, organizational creativity. For an extended period, management control systems represented an obstacle to innovation because these systems focused exclusively on stability, efficiency, and control activities. However, recent scholarship shows that, by managing related tensions between power and creativity, MCS can support innovations that enable organizations to pursue both effective short-term outcomes and longer-term strategic ends. This paper traces the evolution of MCS research from traditional perceptions of control as a barrier to innovation to more modern approaches, which view MCS as an enabler of creative processes. The paper discusses the complexity of integrating innovation into MCS frameworks and stresses the role of qualitative research in capturing the dynamic, evolving interactions between these systems and innovation. The following paper reviews recent theoretical and empirical findings and develops a framework that highlights the importance of flexible, complex control mechanisms for innovation. This study encourages further qualitative exploration into how MCS can balance control with creativity to enhance organizational success and long-term growth.
Keywords: Control Mechanisms, Innovation, Management Control Systems, Organizational Development, Qualitative Research.
