National Culture and Management Control Systems

Abstract: Seminar date: 29th May, 2017 Course: BUSN79, Business Administration Degree Project in Accounting and Finance, 15 ECTS Authors: Gareth Wright and Nikolaos Lappas Supervisor: Anders Anell Keywords: Management control systems, National culture, Levers of control Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify how multinational companies set their central management control systems and how are these are perceived and implemented at a local level; and why any differences may exist in local adaptation/implementation. Methodology: This case study has followed a qualitative, hybrid deductive-inductive research strategy. the empirical data has been collected through interviews. The results were complemented with secondary data such as official websites, annual reports, and codes of ethics. Theoretical framework: The theoretical framework of this paper was comprised from theory concerning management control systems, national culture, local and international adaptation of MCS. Empirical foundation: The empirical perspective was derived from four interviews with four managers from two companies, company A and company B, in Greece and Sweden, and Mexico and Colombia respectively. Additional information was retrieved from the companies’ websites, annual reports, and codes of conduct. Conclusions: The findings of this thesis indicate that MCS within a multinational company tend to converge, rather than follow the parent company’s national culture. They also suggest that local culture is not a significant factor in the local implementation of the centrally-set MCS.