There is growing interest in studying management control practices as a package of interrelated mechanisms, yet few empirical examinations exist to date. This is particularly true for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). There is a wide gap in knowledge regarding the use and choice of control practices that constitute SMEs’ management control systems (MCSs). These gaps limit our understanding of how SMEs gather and interpret accounting information for decision-making and control purposes. This thesis contributes to the management control literature by researching MCSs in SMEs, examining their MCS configurations, the diversity of practices that constitute them, and similarities and differences in their composition and use across organizations. Moreover, the research integrates two theoretical perspectives (evolutionary and behavioural) to examine the alignments between MCSs and organizational characteristics, manager characteristics, and organizational environment. This thesis also contributes to the firm interrelations literature by examining how asymmetric relationships between large buyers and SME suppliers influence the MCSs of SMEs. I undertake a multi-case study of seven SMEs that are suppliers in the Chilean mining industry. Data collection included surveys and in-depth semi-structured interviews with general, financial and operations managers. A combination of deductive and inductive approaches was used in data analysis. Intra-case analysis was followed by inter-case contrast and comparisons. Several steps were followed to ensure rigour. The findings provide insights into the role of MCSs in information and control for decision-making and illustrate how MCSs are constituted of diverse control practices whose use is tailored by firms. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to MCSs in SMEs, as each firm has its unique MCS configuration. I identified three primary forms of MCS configurations across cases, including a comprehensive configuration that has not received attention in the literature. Moreover, the findings show that the MCS serves multiple purposes and is essential for ensuring a firm’s survival. While the overall set of controls may not be a well-integrated system, but rather a package of loosely connected parts, it provides a satisfactory basis for decision-making. There is little evidence to suggest that a more integrated system would be an improvement, as firms aim for MCSs to provide the necessary flexibility and adaptability. The results also indicate that managers influence both the control configurations utilized by firms and the design of their control practices. The cases studied further illustrate how powerful clients can create market mechanisms that influence information and control practices of suppliers through transactions and contracts. The study provides evidence of how control practices support SMEs in undertaking complex management decisions to deal with environments characterized by high uncertainty, unfavourable information asymmetries, and rigid market conditions. This research contributes to the academic literature on MCSs by comprehensively examining MCS configurations and their sources of influence in its contexts. It also brings theory closer to practice by inquiring firsthand from managers and accounting professionals on how their firms develop, design, and implement their MCSs. The results will be informative for policymakers, institutions pursuing the development of SMEs that are suppliers in a natural resources-based industry, as well as accounting and management professionals.

Aujourd’hui, une entreprise ne peut, à elle seule, satisfaire les exigences de ses clients. Elle a besoin de s'appuyer sur les acteurs de sa Supply Chain : ses fournisseurs, les fournisseurs de ses fournisseurs et les distributeurs. Dans ce cadre, la littérature met en évidence la prédisposition des acteurs à aligner leurs comportements et à opter pour un comportement global intégrant les caractéristiques physiques, informationnelles, managériales, etc. L’objet de cette recherche est de comprendre par quels dispositifs de coordination ce postulat se réalise. Parallèlement, ces dispositifs de coordination (le contrat, la confiance, le pouvoir ou encore l’opportunisme), qui trouvent généralement leur substance dans les relations interpersonnelles, alimentent une littérature qui a tendance à laisser penser que l’idée d’un alignement de comportement n’est pas soutenable dans les relations inter-firmes. Pour comprendre la relation inter-firmes et les dispositifs mis en place au sein de la Supply Chain Automobile, nous avons exploré une revue de littérature sur la firme, la relation inter-firmes, les différents regards portés sur la coordination inter-firmes et la place accordée à chaque dispositif de coordination. Nous avons également exposé la spécificité du concept SCM et plus largement le concept Supply Chain. Par la suite, une étude de cas, inscrite dans une démarche compréhensive au sens du Dumez (2014), a constitué la phase empirique de notre recherche. La confrontation du matériau théorique au matériau empirique a fait émerger trois idéaux-types de relations (Collaboration, Coordination et Transaction) dont des dispositifs changent d’un type à l’autre et selon que l’on se place en amont ou en aval. Ainsi, peut-on trouver dans le même idéaltype, et chez les mêmes acteurs, des dispositifs ascendants (envers les clients) et descendants (envers les fournisseurs). Cette recherche a appuyé les travaux sur le rôle décisif du leadership, d’une part dans la construction de la relation de collaboration avec ses fournisseurs, et d’autre part sur l’impact qu’il exerce sur la définition des dispositifs de relation. Elle a également montré que la place de la culture dans les relations inter-firmes n’est pas uniforme, mais change en fonction de la solidité du système organisationnel de l’entreprise. Enfin, cette recherche montre la corrélation entre la construction du système organisationnel des entreprises au sein de chaque idéaltype et les cinq principaux facteurs, à savoir, la spécificité de l’actif, la technicité du produit, le temps, la qualité et le prix. / Nowadays, a firm cannot meet its customers' requirements alone. It needs to rely on its Supply Chain : its providers, the providers of its providers, and the distributors.In this framework, the literature highlights the actors’ proneness to align their behaviors and to opt for a global behavior that integrates physical, informational and managerial characteristics. The purpose of this research is to understand by which coordination instruments does this postulate is carried out? On the other hand, these coordination instruments (contract, trust, power or opportunism), which often find their substance in the interpersonal relationships, feed a literature that tends to let one think that the idea of a behavioral alignment is not bearable in the interfirm relationships.To understand the interfirm relationships and its instruments in the automotive supply chain, we have explored a literature review on the firm, the interfirm relationships and the place granted to each coordination instrument. We also showed the specificity of the SCM concept, and more widely the Supply Chain concept. Then, a case study registered in a comprehensive approach, in Dumez sense (2014), constituted the empirical phases of our research. The confrontation of the theoretical material with the empirical material brought three ideal types of relationships to the foreground (Collaboration, Coordination and Transactional), whose instruments change from one to another, and differ if we are upstream or downstream. Within the same idealtype, and the same actors, there are ascendants (towards the customers) or descendants (towards the providers) instruments. This research has rested on the works on the leadership decisive role, on one hand in the building of a collaborative relationship with the providers and, on the other hand, its impact on the definition of the relationship measure. It also demonstrated that the place of the culture in the interfirm relationships is not always the same, but changes depending on the organizational system of the firm. Finally, this research shows the correlation between the organizational system building of the firms within each idealtype, and the five following main factors : the asset specificity, the product technicality, the time, the quality and the price.