Mind the Gap - Lived experiences relating to gendered aspects of management control systems - A case study of a Swedish professional services firm

Abstract: Gender and accounting research has typically studied the logic behind gender skewness within accounting firms. Yet, a more nascent research stream has begun to inspect accounting logics from a gender lens. Building on evidence from bureaucratic organisations, this previous research claims that management control systems (MCS), that are typically concerned with output and results, reflect and reaffirm a masculine conduct to business. Still, little is known about gendered aspect of MCS in decentralised institutes, and close to no study has examined how this gendering of business is perceived by organisational members. With this as a background, this thesis was performed as a qualitative case study within the management consulting division in a Swedish professional services firm, and is based on in-depth interviews with employees. Based on the concepts of technocratic and socio-ideological controls suggested by Alvesson and Kärreman (2004) combined with literature on stereotypical feminine and masculine attributes, this thesis aims to investigate gendered aspects embedded in the control of a non-bureaucratic organisation. Findings reveal that this kind of organisation, featuring flexibility and decentralisation, advocates control systems promoting feminine virtues such as plurality, cooperation and understanding. However, a decoupling between the control for this feminine conduct, and realised business behaviour is uncovered. This is explained by an interplay between technocratic and socio-ideological systems that tightens the influence over employees. As such, it is suggested that the gendered aspects embedded in this hybridisation of control will set the stage for reproduction of gendered behaviour in business operations.