The social construction of management control systems

Abstract

The management accounting literature borrows heavily and uncritically from neo-classical economics and its intellectual affiliates in organization theory. We review this theoretical legacy and offer an alternative, dialectical approach. This alternative theoretical structure addresses many of the deficiencies found in the existing literature by incorporating inter-organizational and social conflict, and by recognizing the social origins and social consequences of corporate control systems. A socio-historical study of General Motors' strategies of internationalization — spanning some 60 years — is used to illustrate the implications of the alternative approach for management accounting and organization theory.