Management Control Systems as a Package and the Impact on Organizational Ambidexterity : A Case Study of a R&D Organization in a Swedish Medical Technology Company

Abstract: Background: The idea of MCSs operating together in a package is not a new concept. However, not many empirical studies have been made where MCSs have been studied as a package despite studies showing the importance in doing so. The assessment of the performance implications of MCSPs has traditionally been limited to financial measures. Theory suggests that the performance of a MCSP ought to be assessed on a broader scale than conventional output measures. Organizational ambidexterity has been positively associated with a broad variety of performance measures and thus it is used as an assessment tool in this study in response to the need for performance measurement on a broader scale than financial output. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to describe the MCSP in two different phases in the case organization and assess how the MCSP in these two phases promotes the organization’s ability to achieve organizational ambidexterity. Methodology: This study uses a qualitative research strategy and is limited to a single case study in a R&D organization within a Swedish medical technology company. Semistructured qualitative interviews have been used to collect empirical data. Conclusion: The MCSP in the two phases is composed of different MCSs that were found to be used differently. Within the MCSP in both phases, several linkages were revealed between control elements and that some MCSs function to achieve the purposes of other MCSs. This study further concludes that the MCSP of the current phase was found to promote organizational ambidexterity better than the MCSP in the previous phase due to it promoting a better balance between exploitation and exploration.