The Pivotal Role of Management Control in Times of Crisis: Enhancing Organizational Resilience and Strategic Adaptation
Keywords:
Management Control, Control Mechanisms, Management Crises, Strategy, Performance
Abstract
This article examines the transformation of management control, which has traditionally been regarded as a support function, into a central strategic lever in times of crisis. The study is centred on three core areas of enquiry: the impact of management control mechanisms on organisational performance; their role in facilitating adaptation in a crisis context; and the influence of the adoption of new control tools on the company's strategic direction. The research, based on a quantitative study of 97 companies, demonstrates that management control is a key factor in enhancing performance, organisational resilience and the implementation of a proactive strategy. The findings indicate that the integration of advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence and ERP, enables companies to anticipate risks and capitalise on opportunities, thereby strengthening their competitive advantage in times of crisis. However, several limitations remain. These include the relatively small sample size, the specific nature of the crises under study, and the potential for bias in respondents' perceptions. These factors highlight the need for further research, particularly the exploration of additional crisis contexts and the use of mixed methodologies for a more comprehensive analysis.
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References
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2. AlTaweel, I., & Al-Hawary, S. (2021). The Mediating Role of Innovation Capability on the Relationship between Strategic Agility and Organizational Performance. Sustainability, 13(14), 7564.
3. Agostino, A. & Sidorova, Y. (2016). A performance measurement system to quantify the contribution of social media: New requirements for metrics and methods. Measuring Business Excellence, 20(2), 38–51.
4. Amankwah-Amoah, J. (2020). Stepping up and stepping out of COVID-19: New challenges for environmental sustainability policies in the global airline industry. Journal of Cleaner Production, 271, 12.
5. Anthony, R. (1965). Planning and Control Systems: A Framework for Analysis. Division of Research, Graduate School of Business Administration: Harvard University.
6. Anthony, R. (1988). The management control function. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
7. Appelbaum, D., Kogan, A., & Vasarhelyi, M. A. (2017). Big Data and Analytics in the Modern Audit Engagement: Research Needs. Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory, 36(4), 1–27.
8. Bai, L., & Yan, X. (2023). Impact of social media capability on firm performance: New evidence from China. Asian Business & Management, 22, 118–136.
9. Baird, K., Su, S., & Rahat, M. (2019). Levers of control, management innovation and organisational performance. Pacific Accounting Review, 31(3), 358–375.
10. Bedford, D. S., Malmi, T., & Sandelin, M. (2016). Management control effectiveness and strategy: An empirical analysis of packages and systems. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 51, 12–28.
11. Benga, B., & Elhamma, A. (2024). Navigating the Digital Frontier: A Literature Review on Business Digitalization. European Scientific Journal, ESJ, 20(10), 107.
12. Chenhall, R. H. (2003). Management control systems design within its organizational context: Findings from contingency-based research and directions for the future. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 28(2–3), 127–168.
13. Eisenhardt, K. M., & Graebner, M. E. (2007). Theory Building From Cases: Opportunities And Challenges. Academy of Management Journal, 50(1), 25–32.
14. Elhamma, A. (2013). Performance de la comptabilité par activités : Perceptions des responsables d’entreprises. La Revue des Sciences de Gestion, 263–264(5), 227.
15. Elhamma, A. (2014). Performance du Balanced Scorecard: Perception des responsables d’entreprises. Revue Internationale de Management et de Stratégie, 5(2), 1–9.
16. Elhamma, A. (2015). The relationship between budgetary evaluation, firm size and performance. Journal of Management Development, 34(8), 973–986.
17. Elhamma, A. (2024). Participant observation as a qualitative research method in management sciences: Interests, conditions, and limitations. In B. Bentalha & L. Alla (Eds). Applying Qualitative Research Methods to Management Science, 75–91. IGI Global.
18. Elhamma, A. & El-Moumane, R. (2023). Impact of Firm Size on Digitalization of Management Control: Evidence from Morocco.
19. Elhamma, A., & Slama, F. (2012). Le ContrôLe De Gestion , En Tant Que Mécanisme De Gouvernance Des Entreprises , Et La Rentabilité: Cas Des Sociétés Marocaines. El-Bahith Review, Numéro 11, 1-11.
20. Fähndrich, J. (2023). A literature review on the impact of digitalisation on management control. Journal of Management Control, 34(1), 9–65.
21. Förster, C., Paparella, C., Duchek, S., & Güttel, W. H. (2022). Leading in the Paradoxical World of Crises: How Leaders Navigate Through Crises. Schmalenbach Journal of Business Research, 74(4), 631–657.
22. Geurts, A., Geerdink, T., & Sprenkeling, M. (2022). Accelerated innovation in crises: The role of collaboration in the development of alternative ventilators during the COVID-19 pandemic. Technology in Society, 68, 101923.
23. Hair, J. F., Page, M., & Brunsveld, N. (2019). In Essentials of Business Research Methods (4th ed.). Routledge.
24. Hansen, E. G., & Schaltegger, S. (2016). The Sustainability Balanced Scorecard: A Systematic Review of Architectures. Journal of Business Ethics, 133(2), 193–221.
25. Jensen, C., & Meckling, H. (1976). Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure. Journal of Financial Economics, 3(4), 305–360.
26. Jordan, S., & Messner, M. (2012). Enabling control and the problem of incomplete performance indicators. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 37(8), 544–564.
27. Kaplan, A. M., & Haenlein, M. (2010). Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of social media. Business Horizons, 53(1), 59–68.
28. Kaplan, R. S., & Norton, D. P. (1996). Using the Balanced Scorecard as a Strategic Management System. Harvard Business Review, 15.
29. Leoni, G., Lai, A., Stacchezzini, R., Steccolini, I., Brammer, S., Linnenluecke, M., & Demirag, I. (2021). Accounting, management and accountability in times of crisis: Lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 34(6), 1305–1319.
30. Nagels, M. (2022). Les méthodes mixtes, une perspective pragmatique en recherche. In Traité de la méthodologie de la recherche en sciences de l’éducation et de la formation (pp. 396–411).
31. Obrenovic, B., Du, J., Godinic, D., Tsoy, D., Khan, M. A. S., & Jakhongirov, I. (2020). Sustaining Enterprise Operations and Productivity during the COVID-19 Pandemic: “Enterprise Effectiveness and Sustainability Model”. Sustainability, 12(15), 5981.
32. Otley, D. (1999). Performance management: A framework for management control systems research. Management Accounting Research, 10(4), 363–382. Pearson, M. C., & Mitroff, I. I. (1993). From crisis-prone to crisis-prepared: A framework for crisis management. Academy of Management, 7(1), 48–59.
33. Prasanth, A., Vadakkan, D. J., Surendran, P., & Thomas, B. (2023). Role of Artificial Intelligence and Business Decision Making. International Journal of Advanced Computer Science and Applications, 14(6), 965–969.
34. Quattrone, P. (2016). Management accounting goes digital: Will the move make it wiser? Management Accounting Research, 31, 118–122.
35. Rikhardsson, P., & Yigitbasioglu, O. (2018). Business intelligence & analytics in management accounting research: Status and future focus. International Journal of Accounting Information Systems, 29, 37–58.
36. Stoykova, S., & Shakev, N. (2023). Artificial Intelligence for Management Information Systems: Opportunities, Challenges, and Future Directions. Algorithms, 16(8), 357. Szukits, Á., & Móricz, P. (2024). Towards data-driven decision making: The role of analytical culture and centralization efforts. Review of Managerial Science, 18(10), 2849–2887.
37. Teece, D. J., Pisano, G., & Shuen, A. (1997). Dynamic Capabilities and Strategic Management. Strategic Management Journal, 18(7), 509–533.
38. Teece, D., Peteraf, M. A., & Leih, S. (2016). Dynamic Capabilities and Organizational Agility: Risk, Uncertainty and Entrepreneurial Management in the Innovation Economy. California Management Review, 58(4), 13–35. Tessier, S., & Otley, D. (2012). A conceptual development of Simons’ Levers of Control framework. Management Accounting Research, 23(3), 171–185.
39. Verhoef, P. C., Broekhuizen, T., Bart, Y., Bhattacharya, A., Qi Dong, J., Fabian, N., & Haenlein, M. (2021). Digital transformation: A multidisciplinary reflection and research agenda. Journal of Business Research, 122, 889–901.
Published
2024-12-10
How to Cite
Snoussi, N., & Elhamma, A. (2024). The Pivotal Role of Management Control in Times of Crisis: Enhancing Organizational Resilience and Strategic Adaptation. European Scientific Journal, ESJ, 36, 136. Retrieved from https://eujournal.org/index.php/esj/article/view/18849
Section
ESI Preprints
Copyright (c) 2024 Nabila Snoussi, Azzouz Elhamma
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
