Management control “packages” in virtual teams

Journal title MANAGEMENT CONTROL
Author/s Guido Noto, Carmelo Marisca, Gustavo Barresi
Publishing Year 2024 Issue 2023/3 Language Italian
Pages 20 P. 43-62 File size 239 KB
DOI 10.3280/MACO2023-003003
DOI is like a bar code for intellectual property: to have more infomation click here

Below, you can see the article first page

If you want to buy this article in PDF format, you can do it, following the instructions to buy download credits

Article preview

FrancoAngeli is member of Publishers International Linking Association, Inc (PILA), a not-for-profit association which run the CrossRef service enabling links to and from online scholarly content.

Studies on the management of virtual teams emerged in the international literature debate since the last decade of XX century. The Covid-19 pandemic turn the spot-light on this topic since many organizations had to transform their face-to-face teams into virtual ones through the adoption of remote working modes – at least during lockdown restriction periods. Previous literature on virtual teams has devot-ed scant attention to management control issues. This research aims to fill this gap by exploring how management control “packages” changed – and are still chang-ing – to cope with virtual teams. To do that, this work undertakes a cross-sectional field study based on semi-structured interviews with 27 managers of different companies. As a result, it emerges that the control of virtual teams requires the adoption – or strengthening – of mechanisms to compensate for the reduced availability of cultural controls.

Keywords: Management control, virtual teams, smart working, remote working, packages

  1. Abernethy M.A., Chua W.F. (1996), A field study of control system “redesign”: the impact of institutional processes on strategic choice, Contemporary Accounting Research, 13(2), pp. 569-606.
  2. Anderson E., Oliver R.L. (1987), Perspectives on behavior-based versus outcome-based salesforce control systems. Journal of Marketing, 51(4), pp. 76-88.
  3. Anthony R.N. (1965), Planning and Control Systems: A Framework for Analysis, Harvard Business School.
  4. Anthony R.N. (1988), The Management Control Function, Harvard Business School.
  5. Ascani I., Gatti M., Chiucchi M.S. (2021), Pandemia e sistema di budgeting: quali effetti sulla figura del controller?, Management Control, 3, pp. 65-86.
  6. Badia F., Donato F. (2022), Opportunities and risks in using big data to support management control systems: A multiple case study. Management Control, 3, pp 39-64.
  7. Barretta A.D., Noto G. (2023), Management control practices in interorganizational initiatives: The case of a public program, Financial Accountability & Management, 39, pp. 493-513.
  8. Barretta A.D., Bracci E., Ruggiero P. (2018), Il sistema di controllo manageriale dei programmi comunitari della regione Toscana: meccanismi per superare l’approccio divisionale, Azienda Pubblica, 1, pp. 13-36.
  9. Bedford D.S., Malmi T., Sandelin M. (2016), Management control effectiveness and strategy: An empirical analysis of packages and systems, Accounting, Organizations and Society, 51, pp.12-28.
  10. Bianchi C. (2010), Improving performance and fostering accountability in the public sector through system dynamics modelling: From an ‘external’ to an ‘internal’ perspective, Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 27(4), pp. 361-384.
  11. Bisbe J., Sivabalan P. (2017), Management control and trust in virtual settings: A case study of a virtual new product development team, Management Accounting Research, 37, pp. 12-29.
  12. Bonner S.E., Sprinkle G.B. (2002), The effects of monetary incentives on effort and task performance: theories, evidence, and a framework for research, Accounting, Organizations and Society, 27(4-5), pp. 303-345.
  13. Brunetti G. (1992), Il controllo di gestione in condizioni ambientali perturbate, Milano, FrancoAngeli.
  14. Cascio W.F. (2000), Managing a virtual workplace, Academy of Management Perspectives, 14(3), pp. 81-90.
  15. Catturi G. (2021), Potere aziendale, pandemia e smart working, Management Control, suppl. 2, pp.15-38.
  16. Centorrino G., Noto G., Rupo D. (2022), Management control in inter-firm relationships: Opportunities and challenges of blockchain technology adoption, Management Control, 3, pp 65-88.
  17. Chiucchi M.S., Gatti M. (2015), L’evoluzione degli studi di management control: un percorso nel segno della varietà, Management Control, 4, pp. 5-8.
  18. Culasso F., Giacosa E., Giordino D., Crocco E. (2022), Digital transformation: Is Covid-19 a catalyst for micro and small enterprises first steps toward innovation?. Management Control, Suppl. 2, pp.71-94.
  19. Dai N.T., Free C., Gendron Y. (2019), Interview-based research in accounting 2000-2014: Informal norms, translation and vibrancy, Management Accounting Research, 42, pp. 26-38.
  20. De Jong B.A., Bijlsma-Frankema K.M., Cardinal L.B. (2014), Stronger than the sum of its parts? The performance implications of peer control combinations in teams, Organization Science, 25(6), pp. 1703-1721.
  21. Delfino G.F., van der Kolk B. (2021), Remote working, management control changes and employee responses during the COVID-19 crisis, Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 34(6), pp. 1376-1387.
  22. Demartini M.C., Otley D. (2020), Beyond the system vs. package dualism in Performance Management Systems design: A loose coupling approach, Accounting, Organizations and Society, 86, 101072.
  23. Dulebohn J.H., Hoch J.E. (2017), Virtual teams in organizations, Human Resource Management Review, 27, pp. 569-574.
  24. Flamholtz E. (1996), Effective organizational control: a framework, applications, and implications, European Management Journal, 14(6), pp. 596-611.
  25. Grabner I., Moers F. (2013), Management control as a system or a package? Conceptual and empirical issues, Accounting, Organizations and Society, 38(6-7), pp. 407-419.
  26. Green S.G., Welsh M.A. (1988), Cybernetics and dependence: Reframing the control concept, Academy of Management Review, 13(2), pp. 287-301.
  27. Guest G., Bunce A., Johnson L. (2006), How many interviews are enough? An experiment with data saturation and variability, Field Methods, 18(1), pp. 59-82.
  28. Holton J.A. (2001), Building trust and collaboration in a virtual team, Team Performance Management: an International Journal, 7(3/4), pp. 36-47.
  29. Lillis A.M., Mundy J. (2005), Cross‐sectional field studies in management accounting research – closing the gaps between surveys and case studies, Journal of Management Accounting Research, 17(1), pp. 119-141.
  30. Lynn Hannan R. (2016), Discussion of “Communicated values as informal controls: Promoting quality while undermining productivity?”, Contemporary Accounting Research, 33(4), pp. 1435-1439.
  31. Malmi T., Brown D.A. (2008), Management control systems as a package – Opportunities, challenges and research directions, Management Accounting Research, 19(4), pp. 287-300.
  32. Mancini D., Iacoviello G., De Nicola M. (2021), L’impatto della crisi pandemica sui sistemi di controllo di gestione: un’analisi empirica, Management Control, 1, pp. 105-127.
  33. Maraghini M.P. (2018), Management control: il “gattopardo” per il governo aziendale, Management Control, 3, pp. 5-11.
  34. Marchi L. (2011), L’evoluzione del controllo di gestione nella prospettiva informativa e gestionale esterna, Management Control, 3, pp. 5-16.
  35. Martins L.L., Gilson L.L., Maynard M.T. (2004), Virtual teams: What do we know and where do we go from here?, Journal of Management, 30(6), pp. 805-835.
  36. Merchant K.A., Otley D. (2020), Beyond the systems versus package debate, Accounting, Organizations and Society, 86, 101185.
  37. Merchant K.A., Manzoni J.F. (1989), The achievability of budget targets in profit centers: A field study, In Readings in Accounting for Management Control (pp. 496-520), Springer, Boston, MA.
  38. Merchant K., Riccaboni A. (2001), Il Controllo di Gestione, McGraw Hill Italia, Milano.
  39. Merchant K., van der Stede W.A. (2007), Management Control Systems, 2nd ed. Prentice Hall, Pearson Education Limited, Harlow, Essex, England.
  40. Neu D., Rahaman A.S., Everett J. (2014), Accounting and sweatshops: enabling coordination and control in low-price apparel production chains, Contemporary Accounting Research, 31(2), pp. 322-346.
  41. Noto G., Marisca C., Barresi G. (2023), Adapting management control to virtual teams: evidence from a natural experiment, Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management, 20(5), pp. 621-646.
  42. Noto G., Vainieri M., Zuccarino S., Coletta L. (2021), Il controllo e la gestione della performance delle attività di prevenzione in contesti interorganizzativi: il caso dei controlli frontalieri sugli alimenti, Mecosan, 1, pp. 59-75.
  43. Otley D.T. (1980), The contingency theory of management accounting: achievement and prognosis, In Readings in Accounting for Management Control (pp. 83-106). Springer, Boston, MA.
  44. Ouchi W.G. (1979), A conceptual framework for the design of organizational control mechanisms, Management Science, 25(9), pp. 833-848.
  45. Pianese T., Errichiello L., da Cunha J.V. (2023), Organizational control in the context of remote working: A synthesis of empirical findings and a research agenda, European Management Review, 20(2), pp. 326-345.
  46. Piccoli G., Powell A., Ives B., (2004), Virtual teams: team control structure, work processes, and team effectiveness, Information Technology & People,17(4), pp. 359-379.
  47. Presti C. (2022), L’azienda intelligente: opportunità e minacce per la creazione di valore, Management Control, 3, pp 5-14.
  48. Riccaboni A. (2009), Il controllo di gestione. Obiettivi, attori e strumenti, In Marasca, S., Marchi, L., Riccaboni, A., a cura di, Controllo di gestione: metodologie e strumenti, Arezzo, Knowità.
  49. Tucker B.P. (2011), Heard it through the grapevine: A small-world persepective on control as a package, AAA 2011 Management Accounting Section (MAS) Meeting Paper.
  50. Schein E. (1997), Organizational Culture and Leadership, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco.
  51. Simons R. (1987), Accounting control systems and business strategy: an empirical analysis. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 12(4), pp. 357-374.
  52. Simons R. (1995), Levers of Control, Harvard University Press.

Guido Noto, Carmelo Marisca, Gustavo Barresi, I "pacchetti" di controllo manageriale nei team virtuali in "MANAGEMENT CONTROL" 3/2023, pp 43-62, DOI: 10.3280/MACO2023-003003