Merger integration includes taking decisions to ensure procedures are shared within a company to achieve common goals. Simultaneously, research shows a need for adaption to specific units’ practices. Consequently, this paper aims to increase the understanding in the interaction between central and local views of management control in terms of the key concepts of budgets and key performance indicators. We pose the question of how intended and perceived control differs, as differences may implicate that control is not followed. It is examined by a theoretical framework built upon four archetypes of change. We used semi-structured interviews to achieve a deep understanding in one merger case. The results show that top management use centralized control by commanding and informing employees in order to gain information from the local units. Yet, local units perceive the intended control as adapted due to that dialogue is used at this level. This amounts to the concept of “false socializing” that is argued to create a deeper understanding of merger integration. It depicts how local units can carry out and perceive control intentions made by a central unit.

Product development is critical for many firms, because in many industries the development of products has become a primary source of competitive advantage. To manage this process many firms use management controls, but the effect of those controls on product development is not clear. Recent research in the product development field suggests that the role of management control is to reduce uncertainty rather than the traditionally-assumed focus of promoting goal congruence, and that organisation members use management controls in an interactive style rather than in the traditionally-assumed diagnostic style. The objective of this thesis is to provide empirical insight into management control practices in product development with particular reference to the interface between organisation members across different functions and hierarchal levels within the organisation. It examines both the role of management controls; either to promote goal congruence or to reduce uncertainty, and the style in which management controls are used; either interactively, diagnostically, to set boundaries, or influence beliefs during the activities that take place during the product development process for different types of product development project. To better understand how this takes place this thesis reports on the boundary objects (i.e. numbers, documents and models) that organisation members use during the product development activities to accomplish management control in practice. Empirical field material was collected during a nine-month intensive longitudinal field study, informed by practice theory (ethnomethodology), which was carried out at a large Australasian multinational company within the consumer foods industry. A participant observation approach was used to collect material from a wide range of sources within the company, including interactions and meetings involving executive managers, functional managers, and product development project teams who were members of the technology, marketing, sales, operations and finance departments. The empirical results indicate that the role of management control changes during the product development process alternating between reducing uncertainty and promoting goal congruence. The style in which management controls are used also differs depending on the stage of the product development process and the nature of the product development projects. Finally, management control was accomplished through the use of different boundary objects for each type of product development project. / The Tertiary Education Commission through an Enterprise Scholarship with Fonterra Brands

Product development is critical for many firms, because in many industries the development of products has become a primary source of competitive advantage. To manage this process many firms use management controls, but the effect of those controls on product development is not clear. Recent research in the product development field suggests that the role of management control is to reduce uncertainty rather than the traditionally-assumed focus of promoting goal congruence, and that organisation members use management controls in an interactive style rather than in the traditionally-assumed diagnostic style. The objective of this thesis is to provide empirical insight into management control practices in product development with particular reference to the interface between organisation members across different functions and hierarchal levels within the organisation. It examines both the role of management controls; either to promote goal congruence or to reduce uncertainty, and the style in which management controls are used; either interactively, diagnostically, to set boundaries, or influence beliefs during the activities that take place during the product development process for different types of product development project. To better understand how this takes place this thesis reports on the boundary objects (i.e. numbers, documents and models) that organisation members use during the product development activities to accomplish management control in practice. Empirical field material was collected during a nine-month intensive longitudinal field study, informed by practice theory (ethnomethodology), which was carried out at a large Australasian multinational company within the consumer foods industry. A participant observation approach was used to collect material from a wide range of sources within the company, including interactions and meetings involving executive managers, functional managers, and product development project teams who were members of the technology, marketing, sales, operations and finance departments. The empirical results indicate that the role of management control changes during the product development process alternating between reducing uncertainty and promoting goal congruence. The style in which management controls are used also differs depending on the stage of the product development process and the nature of the product development projects. Finally, management control was accomplished through the use of different boundary objects for each type of product development project. / The Tertiary Education Commission through an Enterprise Scholarship with Fonterra Brands

Product development is critical for many firms, because in many industries the development of products has become a primary source of competitive advantage. To manage this process many firms use management controls, but the effect of those controls on product development is not clear. Recent research in the product development field suggests that the role of management control is to reduce uncertainty rather than the traditionally-assumed focus of promoting goal congruence, and that organisation members use management controls in an interactive style rather than in the traditionally-assumed diagnostic style. The objective of this thesis is to provide empirical insight into management control practices in product development with particular reference to the interface between organisation members across different functions and hierarchal levels within the organisation. It examines both the role of management controls; either to promote goal congruence or to reduce uncertainty, and the style in which management controls are used; either interactively, diagnostically, to set boundaries, or influence beliefs during the activities that take place during the product development process for different types of product development project. To better understand how this takes place this thesis reports on the boundary objects (i.e. numbers, documents and models) that organisation members use during the product development activities to accomplish management control in practice. Empirical field material was collected during a nine-month intensive longitudinal field study, informed by practice theory (ethnomethodology), which was carried out at a large Australasian multinational company within the consumer foods industry. A participant observation approach was used to collect material from a wide range of sources within the company, including interactions and meetings involving executive managers, functional managers, and product development project teams who were members of the technology, marketing, sales, operations and finance departments. The empirical results indicate that the role of management control changes during the product development process alternating between reducing uncertainty and promoting goal congruence. The style in which management controls are used also differs depending on the stage of the product development process and the nature of the product development projects. Finally, management control was accomplished through the use of different boundary objects for each type of product development project. / The Tertiary Education Commission through an Enterprise Scholarship with Fonterra Brands

Product development is critical for many firms, because in many industries the development of products has become a primary source of competitive advantage. To manage this process many firms use management controls, but the effect of those controls on product development is not clear. Recent research in the product development field suggests that the role of management control is to reduce uncertainty rather than the traditionally-assumed focus of promoting goal congruence, and that organisation members use management controls in an interactive style rather than in the traditionally-assumed diagnostic style. The objective of this thesis is to provide empirical insight into management control practices in product development with particular reference to the interface between organisation members across different functions and hierarchal levels within the organisation. It examines both the role of management controls; either to promote goal congruence or to reduce uncertainty, and the style in which management controls are used; either interactively, diagnostically, to set boundaries, or influence beliefs during the activities that take place during the product development process for different types of product development project. To better understand how this takes place this thesis reports on the boundary objects (i.e. numbers, documents and models) that organisation members use during the product development activities to accomplish management control in practice. Empirical field material was collected during a nine-month intensive longitudinal field study, informed by practice theory (ethnomethodology), which was carried out at a large Australasian multinational company within the consumer foods industry. A participant observation approach was used to collect material from a wide range of sources within the company, including interactions and meetings involving executive managers, functional managers, and product development project teams who were members of the technology, marketing, sales, operations and finance departments. The empirical results indicate that the role of management control changes during the product development process alternating between reducing uncertainty and promoting goal congruence. The style in which management controls are used also differs depending on the stage of the product development process and the nature of the product development projects. Finally, management control was accomplished through the use of different boundary objects for each type of product development project. / The Tertiary Education Commission through an Enterprise Scholarship with Fonterra Brands

Franchising is a form of business arrangement which has been claimed to offer a high possibility of business success. The reason for its growing support may be due to the benefits franchising offers to the individuals (franchisees), the organisations (franchisors), the public and the whole economy. The notion that franchising offers a successful guarantee for business operations warrants investigation into what factors contribute to likely success. The characteristics of franchise firms have been identified as a significant factor in ensuring franchise success. In this study, franchise firms were classified into four groups using hierarchical cluster analysis: the beginners, the developers, the growers and the matures. The profiles were tested against reported performance measures, indicating that franchise firms in the growing group outperform firms in other groups. However, this is only one component which may influence a successful franchise development. Relationship management is a second, critical area in building a strong franchise network. Some significant relationship building factors are explored in this thesis. Control, influence strategy, franchisee information asymmetry and communication strategy were found to be significant factors which lead to franchise competitive advantage. The results show that control and coercive influence strategy negatively influence franchise outcomes, while noncoercive influence strategy, information asymmetry and communication strategy positively enhance the franchise relationship. The results of multiple regression analyses also indicate that the combined effects of these franchise strategies have a significant impact on franchise outcomes; namely, financial performance, franchise goal congruence and franchisee satisfaction. The findings suggest that franchise firms can adjust their strategies to enhance their business success. Control, influence, information and information strategies can be used to maintain and induce healthy franchise relationships within the franchise dyad. The study also significantly extends the existing understanding of franchise heterogeneity theories, key criteria of franchise business competitiveness, the unique business relationship between franchisor and franchisee and franchise factors contributing to franchise success in the current franchising literature.

<p>Traditional financial management has lately been criticized, since it gives inadequate and unilateral information for decisions and strategy of the operation. The purpose of this essay is to investigate if a balanced scorecard is able to work together with a budget and become a stronger control system for the management. Essential theory underlies the gathering of data as well as the analysis, and the empirical investigation is based on personal interviews. The conclusions drawn from my analysis are that two parallel control systems could complement each other’s weaknesses. The budget and the balanced scorecard seem to harmonize very well, as the balanced scorecard has a long term strategy while the budget has a short term strategy. In my combination model, the difference in working only with a balanced scorecard is that the budget will have a stronger position than the financial perspective in a balanced scorecard.</p>

Bakgrund: Budgeten har en lång historia i vilken dess roll och betydelse har ändrats över tid. Budgeten fyller en mängd olika syften som är såväl företags- som situationsspecifika. Under senare år har det riktats kritik mot budgeten gällande att den inte är anpassad till dagens ständigt föränderliga miljö. Byggföretag verkar i en bransch som är ständigt beroende av förändringar i samhällsutvecklingen som förutsätter flexibilitet och ställer hårda krav på anpassningsförmåga samt behärskning av potentiell hastig omstrukturering. Syfte: Uppsatsens syfte är att skapa kunskap om vilka, och hur, olika osäkerhetsfaktorer påverkar byggföretags budgetanvändande. Detta genom att analysera vilka osäkerhetsfaktorer som upplevs som störst i byggbranschen och hur dessa hanteras i byggföretagens budgetering. Avsikten är även att skapa en insikt om vilka syften budgeten uppfyller under osäkra förhållanden. Metod: Uppsatsen är en kvalitativ branschstudie på byggföretag inom den svenska marknaden. Empirin utgörs av två semistrukturerade intervjuer med två väletablerade bolag. Detta material har analyserats för att urskilja likheter och skillnader mellan företagen för att kunna besvara uppsatsens syfte. Slutsats: Studien visar på att det finns flera huvudsakliga osäkerhetsfaktorer som påverkar byggföretagen. Osäkerheten hanteras främst genom förebyggande analyser som inkluderas i budgetanvändandet. Vidare kombinerar företagen traditionell budgetering med alternativa budgetformer. Budgeten fyller en mängd olika syften där planering, uppföljning och kontroll ses som de primära.   Nyckelord: Ekonomistyrning, budget, budgetering, osäkerhet, byggbranschen. / Background: The budget has a long history where its role and meaning has changed over time. The budget may fulfill a lot of different purposes that take form by its context and surroundings. During the previous years the budget has been criticized for not being able to adapt to the constantly changing environment. Construction companies are operating in an industry that are affected by changes in the society that postulate flexibility, requires adaptability and also control if it will be a quick realign. Purpose: The purpose with the thesis is to create knowledge about which and how different forms of uncertainty have an impact on construction companies use of their budget. We are doing this by analyzing which forms of uncertainty that are experienced in the construction industry and how these are handled by the companies budgeting. The intention is also to create an insight about which purposes fulfils in an environment with uncertainty.  Method: This study is a qualitative study about construction companies on the swedish market. The empirical material is based on two semistructured interviews with two well established firms. The material has been analyzed with the intention to identify differences and similarities between the companies in order to answer the purpose of the thesis. Conclusions: The thesis shows that there are many forms of uncertainty that affects the construction companies. The uncertainty is handled through prevention analyzes that are included in the budget. Except that, the companies are combining traditional budgeting with alternative budgeting. The budget fulfills a lot of different purposes where planning, follow-up and control are the mainly.  Keywords: Management control, budget, budgeting, uncertainty, construction industry

Background: The number of small and medium-sized enterprises has been increasing and has gradually become the main part of economic development over years. However, it is challenging for them to compete in the fast-changing business environment, especially with the changing demands of their stakeholders. In order to control and improve business processes, Management Control System is important for monitoring each process while Performance Measurement System, as an essential part, is a good way of managing goals and targets and help companies improve. Since the business process is closely related to stakeholders, it is necessary to study how small and medium-sized enterprises manage their stakeholders’ expectations to improve their use of performance measurements and control business processes. Findings: We have selected two small and medium-sized enterprises in Kronoberg County in Sweden for our case study. We have found that our research model based on literature is well explained more in detail in practice. Based on the literature, we identify that key stakeholders for small and medium-sized enterprises are basically primary stakeholders, including customers, suppliers, employees, owners/shareholders and community. Performance Measurement System can be used and developed by managing these stakeholders’ expectations. After collecting empirical data, we have discovered that competitors or other companies have an impact on the use of Performance Measurement System as well. Small and medium-sized enterprises also have several important stakeholders to consider and they try to develop and improve Performance Measurement System by managing their stakeholders’ expectations from different perspectives. Results: It is important for small and medium-sized enterprises to find out what their main stakeholders are first before they can manage their expectations. After identifying key stakeholders, different aspects of these stakeholders need to be considered. For instance, employees’ capability of working need to be measured and they have a big impact on Performance Measurement System use and development, especially in small and medium-sized enterprises. Suppliers and customers situations need to be considered since they may come from different regions or countries where there are political issues. Therefore, risks of doing business require enterprises to be flexible and react quickly. Managing these aspects regarding stakeholders is crucial for developing and improving Performance Measurement System in small and mediumsized enterprises.

Many start-ups fail or never achieve their full potential due to founder’s resistance to delegate. Yet our understanding of delegation in entrepreneurship is limited to research on later events in the organizational life cycle with a key focus on succession and exit. Moreover, the existing research focuses on single entrepreneurs; however, many new ventures are created by teams and decisions around delegation of authority are critical, even amongst the founding entrepreneurs within the venture team. Accordingly, the purpose of this dissertation research was to understand when and how delegation occurs in modern new ventures, and how it enhances or undermines new venture survival and growth, with a particular interest in exploring the role of psychological ownership in delegation practice. To understand the phenomenon of interest, I conducted a qualitative study, involving in-depth interviews and non-participative observation, in five growing technology start-ups. In doing so, I utilized the existing literatures on new venture growth, founder delegation, psychological ownership/territoriality and management control systems that more or less address delegation in entrepreneurship. As well, I incorporated other literatures based upon the emerging findings, namely entrepreneurial leadership and agency/stewardship theory. To my knowledge, this work is one of the first of its kind to examine early delegation activities in new ventures. It has the potential to make a number of significant and multi-disciplinary contributions. First, it fills in the gap of knowledge in new venture growth literature, the school of dynamic growth models in particular, where empirical evidence that addresses people management challenges at critical transition points is rare and needed (Phelps et al., 2007), by elucidating the occurrence of new venture delegation. Second, it contributes to psychological ownership and territoriality research being among the first to empirically explore psychological ownership over dynamic objects like business ideas and new ventures, as well as the impact of psychological ownership and the territorial behavior associated with it on delegation in entrepreneurship. This study extends our understanding of psychological ownership and territoriality and facilitates future research on many important organizational phenomena related to psychological issues in entrepreneurial contexts. Third, it enriches founder delegation research by expanding its focus onto the critical delegation events before entrepreneurial succession/exit, since the experience that founders gain through early delegation activities significantly influences their departure decisions, which is recognized as the most critical event in most firms (Hofer & Charan, 1984; Carroll, 1984). In addition, I identify the application of the theories regarding management control systems and agency/stewardship theory in early delegation in the context of entrepreneurship. / Graduate / 2019-07-31