Organizational Control

This book sheds light on the long-neglected phenomenon of organizational control and provides important directions for future research.

Sim B. Sitkin (Edited by), Laura B. Cardinal (Edited by), Katinka M. Bijlsma-Frankema (Edited by)

9780521517447, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 16 September 2010

562 pages, 17 b/w illus. 11 tables
23.5 x 15.8 x 3.2 cm, 1.02 kg

Organization scholars have long acknowledged that control processes are integral to the way in which organizations function. While control theory research spans many decades and draws on several rich traditions, theoretical limitations have kept it from generating consistent and interpretable empirical findings and from reaching consensus concerning the nature of key relationships. This book reveals how we can overcome such problems by synthesising diverse, yet complementary, streams of control research into a theoretical framework and empirical tests that more fully describe how types of control mechanisms (e.g., the use of rules, norms, direct supervision or monitoring) aimed at particular control targets (e.g., input, behavior, output) are applied within particular types of control systems (i.e., market, clan, bureaucracy, integrative). Written by a team of distinguished scholars, this book not only sheds light on the long-neglected phenomenon of organizational control, it also provides important directions for future research.

List of figures
List of tables
List of contributors
Part I. Introduction and History: 1. Control is fundamental Sim B. Sitkin, Laura B. Cardinal and Katinka M. Bijlsma-Frankema
2. A historical perspective on organizational control Roger M. Dunbar and Matt Statler
Part II. Conceptions of Organizational Control: 3. A configurational theory of control Laura B. Cardinal, Sim B. Sitkin and Chris P. Long
4. Critical perspectives on organizational control: reflections and prospects Rick Delbridge
Part III. Identity, Attention, and Motivation in Organizational Control: 5. Identity work and control in occupational communities John Van Maanen
6. Organizational identity and control: can the two go together? Elizabeth George and Ciuli Qian
7. Attention and control William C. Ocasio and Franz Wohlgezogen
8. The role of motivational orientations in formal and informal control M. Audrey Korsgaard, Bruce M. Meglino and Sophia S. Jeong
Part IV. Relational Control: 9. Relational networks, strategic advantage: new challenges for collaborative control John Hagel III, John Seely Brown and Mariann Jelinek
10. Toward a theory of relational control: how relationship structure influences the choice of control Laurie J. Kirsch and Vivek Choudhury
11. Peer control in organizations Misty L. Loughry
Part V. Managerial and Strategic Control: 12. Control to cooperation: examining the role of managerial authority in portfolios of managerial actions Chris P. Long
13. Consequences and antecedents of managerial and employee legitimacy interpretations of control: a natural open system approach Katinka M. Bijlsma-Frankema and Ana Cristina Costa
14. Managerial objectives of formal control: high motivation control mechanisms Antoinette Weibel
15. Control configurations and strategic initiatives Markus Kreutzer and Christoph Lechner
Index of terms
Author index.

Subject Areas: Organizational theory & behaviour [KJU], Business strategy [KJC], Business & management [KJ], Psychology [JM]