This paper examines how internal branding can be integrated into the management control system to overcome the challenges faced by divisionalised companies regarding goal congruence and suboptimisation. A theoretical synthesis pointing out the similarities between management control and internal branding has been used together with the obtained information from interviews to create a new model on how to integrate internal branding into the management control system. Four organisations were included in the empirical research, namley SAS, Länsförsäkringar, Handelsbanken and LiU, which all have divisionalised structures. All of the organisations are in some way using internal branding, implicitly or explicitly, to control behaviour. Our results show that internal branding on its own is not sufficient to control the behaviour within the organisation. However, integrated in the management control system and combined with the general informal control, internal branding is a rather inexpensive and effective way of coordinating divisional behaviour. We argue that a deeper understanding for behavioural control is needed and that internal branding should be given more importance within the management control area.

<p>This paper examines how internal branding can be integrated into the management control system to overcome the challenges faced by divisionalised companies regarding goal congruence and suboptimisation. A theoretical synthesis pointing out the similarities between management control and internal branding has been used together with the obtained information from interviews to create a new model on how to integrate internal branding into the management control system. Four organisations were included in the empirical research, namley SAS, Länsförsäkringar, Handelsbanken and LiU, which all have divisionalised structures. All of the organisations are in some way using internal branding, implicitly or explicitly, to control behaviour.</p><p>Our results show that internal branding on its own is not sufficient to control the behaviour within the organisation. However, integrated in the management control system and combined with the general informal control, internal branding is a rather inexpensive and effective way of coordinating divisional behaviour. We argue that a deeper understanding for behavioural control is needed and that internal branding should be given more importance within the management control area.</p>