This conceptual paper explores the iterative relationship between system design and use for the development process of sustainability control systems (SCS). Building upon Adler and Borys’ seminal framework (Adm Sci Q 41(4):61–89, 1996) as an analytical tool, it suggests that SCS are characteristically distinct, and more research into the dual role of control (i.e. control over based on system design and control in situ based on system use by the individual user) is necessary for future theorisations of the SCS. It poses that for sustainable futures that extend beyond organisational boundaries, more attention is required on individual general employees in management accounting and control frameworks as instrumental for performance outcomes. To this end, individual values, borne from the extra-organisational context, are considered important alongside organisational ones for the development of SCS. Thus, the paper bridges perspectives on system characteristics, the individual and performance outcomes by offering a theoretical framework for future research. It also extends studies on accounting as a social practice by emphasising the extra-organisational factors that influence internal accounting systems. Finally, it expounds upon the notion of social control as an individual-level phenomenon, necessary for sustainability. This expanded theoretical perspective also has implications for practice by encouraging managers to think strategically about how systems are received from the perspective of the user. This can encourage more commitment to the sustainability cause from the outset, as well as over spatial and temporal boundaries.

The role of management accountants (MAs) has been discussed for more than a decade. Scholars as well as practitioners advocate a new role for MAs: the business partner who is involved in managerial decisions and strategic tasks. This is contrasted with the “bean counter” doing more repetitive and operational tasks. Different tasks and accountant–manager interactions are important indicators of MAs’ roles. An empirical assessment of them would allow us to understand what roles MAs fulfill and which contingency factors impact roles. Contrasting results on tasks and interaction with self-perceived roles of MAs helps to understand the extent of self-serving perception. The sample consists of 183 German MAs. Data were analyzed using multivariate multilevel modeling and ordinal regression. On a descriptive level, the results indicate an extension of tasks from operational into strategic areas. That supports the notion of role extension and so-called hybrid MAs. The main contingency factors affecting roles are the position of MAs, the hierarchical level of the MA function, group affiliation and capital market orientation. The second result is that role perception of respondents is independent of what they do and how intensively they interact with managers. It follows from the study that assuming clear-cut roles and transition to one role is too simplistic. A great variety of tasks and interactions of MAs exists. Future studies should take this complexity fully into account. Additionally, self-rating and self-perceived roles do not seem to be coherent with responses of MAs on what they do and how intensively they interact with managers, which is explained by self-serving bias.

The potential of increasing effectiveness and efficiency via performance measurement practices seems clear for scholars and practitioners alike. At the same time, it is often argued that quantitative performance measures fail to do justice to the complex environment of public sector organizations. This paper takes a first step toward incorporating and operationalizing cognitive dissonance theory to make sense of the different beliefs that public workers hold regarding performance measurement practices that are inspired by the New Public Management movement. We analyze a dataset of 34 interviews with employees working in policy departments, and we identify various indications of cognitive dissonance regarding the use of performance measurement at the individual level. Furthermore, we find that employees aim to reduce this dissonance by changing their behavior and by avoiding tasks that do not yield quantifiable results. This paper contributes to the management control literature by exploring how individuals with complex tasks respond to performance measurement practices.

This study examined the strategic management choices that were the basis of the strategic business model of a particular privatized kibbutz factory. The study analyzed the nature and evolution of the factory’s business strategy and discussed how management utilized belief-control systems to implement change. Case study methodology identified three distinct belief-control periods as the kibbutz factory shifted from the original pure socialist tradition to capitalism. Yet, unlike in many other privatized kibbutz factories, top management integrated original socialist values with capitalist norms. Findings showed the gradual evolution of the factory strategic-business model into a hybrid structure that combined the logic of both community and economics. The modifications allowed the business the factory to survive and flourish.

In view of the increasing sophistication of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and their importance for global economies, the purpose of this paper is to provide comprehensive insight into the research on performance measurement systems (PMSs) in SMEs. Thus, a systematic literature review was conducted covering 98 top-tier journals in the areas of management accounting, SMEs, and general management, to structure the existing knowledge. The review of these journals comprises 34 studies that deal with PMSs in SMEs. The paper provides a comprehensive summary of empirical research of use, development and design, influencing factors, and consequences of PMSs in SMEs. In addition, it delineates the particular aspects of family firms. It considers research locations, theories, and methods applied, as well as research settings, and illustrates their changes over time. PMS research in SMEs is still scarce. The review shows that most research has been conducted in Europe and Australia, followed by North America. The majority of papers use the case/field study method. Multiple studies that describe their theoretical roots are informed by contingency theory, organization theory, or psychological/cultural theory. An assessment of the investigated topics illustrates the particularities of PMSs in SMEs, especially in family-controlled firms. Multiple studies highlight the importance of family influence, or continuous revision and knowledge exchange for sophisticated control systems, like PMSs. A lot of papers indicate that SMEs, including family firms, may benefit from the use of sophisticated control systems.

Different from the strong evidence in the literature that voluntary disclosure in general and corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure in particular is associated with corporate financial performance results for the association of CSR disclosure and firmlevel cost of capital are not fully convincing. We argue that contradictory findings result from research design limitations and revisit the relationship, hence. Predicting a negative relationship between CSR disclosure and information asymmetry as well as for CSR disclosure and cost of capital, we examine our hypotheses based on a sample of 264 German companies that provide English language CSR reporting along with current stock prices and analyst forecast data. We use artificial intelligence based content analysis to measure CSR disclosure. We proxy for information asymmetry with bid–ask spreads and calculate an implied cost of capital measure. Results reveal that CSR disclosure is significantly negatively associated with information asymmetry as well as cost of capital. Our paper contributes to the existing literature as this is the first study to examine capital cost effects of comprehensive CSR disclosure using nonsubjective measures in the German setting that is known to have an extraordinary rich CSR disclosure and long experience in CSR and CSR disclosure.

In recent years, the management literature has increasingly investigated organizational ambidexterity—the ability to balance exploitative and explorative activities—as an important antecedent to firm survival and performance. Some recent studies indicate that management control systems may be able to foster organizational ambidexterity. The aim of the present short survey paper is to provide an overview of the current literature on organizational ambidexterity and management control systems. Overall, the results of the review show that rather than a single specific management control system, a package of management control systems and various forms of using such systems may be necessary to successfully achieve and manage organizational ambidexterity. In line with this notion, some of the included papers even find a complementary effect of the combined use of opposing management controls to support the achievement of organizational ambidexterity. The paper concludes with several specific ideas for further research.

Option-like situations in non-financial markets, often referred to as real options, are usually discussed and analyzed in the context of investment decisions. In spite of the real options literature’s focus on investment decisions, option-like situations are also frequently encountered in operating decisions. For instance, decisions on the operating mode of a flexible machine in the presence of switching costs can be characterized as complex real options problems with multiple compound options. For an optimal long-term solution, short-term decision rules must consider the value of these options. In this paper we first show how a fully rational decision rule that takes the long-term consequences of short-term decisions into account can be derived within the real options framework. We contrast the outcomes of decisions according to this benchmark rule with the outcomes of decisions according to the traditional decision rule based on current contribution margin and illustrate our findings with a simulation analysis providing for a rich set of environments characterized by different levels of uncertainty and different switching costs. A major drawback of the options-based rule is the necessity to estimate option values at every decision point drawing on information from all future periods. We therefore analyze how a simplified options-based decision rule that looks ahead only one period performs against the benchmark rule. In an extension of the simulation analysis we find that the simplified decision rule serves as a good heuristic and improves decision-making similar to the benchmark rule while at the same time being much more likely to be implemented in practice.