Institutional Complexity and Management Control Systems: A Case Study in the Aviation Service Industry

Abstract

This study examines how Management Control Systems (MCS) are used and designed to achieve objectives derived from multiple (institutional) logics. We have found the presence of a sustainable and financial logic coexisting in an organization operating within the aviation service industry. This is portrayed through the existence of a rather traditional profit-seeking financial logic that interacts with an emerging sustainable logic, which is currently gaining a strong foothold because of external pressure pushing for change. Our paper illustrates that an increased interaction between these logics makes their respective organizational influence reach comparable levels. Additionally, our study shows that the presence of financial and sustainable logics is interactively incorporated in the MCS using balanced scorecards (BSCs). In relation to prior literature concerning institutional complexity and MCSs, tending to focus on control mechanisms in isolation, we enlighten the use of multiple control tools holistically. On that notice, the technical integration between control tools relating to the use of BSCs and budgets show that the combination of different cybernetic control tools can be fundamental for having both interactivity and an effective resource allocation for multiple logics simultaneously.