Premium
Collaborative inter‐organisational relationships and management control change
Author(s) -
Biswas Sharlene,
Akroyd Chris
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
accounting and finance
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.645
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1467-629X
pISSN - 0810-5391
DOI - 10.1111/acfi.12955
Subject(s) - management control system , control (management) , knowledge management , corporate governance , style (visual arts) , business , psychology , process management , management , computer science , geography , economics , archaeology , finance
Abstract This study examines the changing use of controls to manage an ongoing inter‐organisational collaborative relationship. We do this by studying the development of an open innovation relationship using a case study informed by concepts from neo‐old institutional economics and Simons’ levers of control. Data was collected via semi‐structured interviews and an analysis of documents. Our findings suggest that initially, governance structures and formal safeguards were applied diagnostically, which resulted in low levels of trust. Over time, the development of a collaborative relationship through investments in relational specificity has resulted in a more interactive style of control, which has increased trust.