The adoption of management control systems by start-ups: Internal factors and context as determinants

The PLS results indicate that international strategy and past performance are important antecedents of the adoption of different types of MCSs and the fsQCA results show that different causal paths lead to high degrees of M CS adoption.

Abstract

Previous research on the adoption of management control systems (MCSs) by start-ups has yielded inconsistent results showing that many start-ups do not adopt formal MCSs. This study focused on the role of internal factors and context as antecedents in the adoption of different types of MCSs. These antecedents were country-based cultural context, strategy, organizational structure, and performance. Partial least squares (PLS) and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) were used to test the proposed hypotheses for a sample of high-tech and knowledge-intensive start-ups from Portugal and Norway. The PLS results indicate that international strategy and past performance are important antecedents of the adoption of different types of MCSs. The fsQCA results show that different causal paths lead to high degrees of MCS adoption. These paths vary according to the type of MCS. This study complements previous research and provides support to practitioners' decisions and policymakers' influence on MCS adoption.