Management control systems in innovation companies: A literature based framework

Past research has traditionally argued that management control systems (MCSs) may present a hindrance to the creativity of innovation companies. This theoretical paper surveys the literature to focus an investigation on the MCSs of innovation companies. Within the object of control paradigm the paper develops and presents a theoretical model of the impact of eleven external, organisational and innovation related contingency factors on the MCSs in companies that engage in innovation activities. We also suggest measures for further empirical research. By formulating hypotheses on 43 potential interactions the model predicts contradictory influences on two direct control categories, results and action control, but stresses the importance of two indirect categories, personnel and cultural control. More specifically, the high levels of technological complexity and innovation capability in this type of company are expected to be negatively associated with the application of results and action control, whereas personnel and cultural seem to be more appropriate. Furthermore, important sources of finance, venture capital and public funding, are both hypothesised to be positively associated with the application of results, action and personnel control; whereas only public funding is predicted to be positively related to the application of cultural control. The principal contribution of this paper lies in synthesising the literature to provide a model of the impact of a unique set of eleven contingency factors for innovation companies on a broad scope of controls. In addition, the contingency model, if empirically validated, would add value by inferring the particular forms of management control which would be beneficial in innovative company settings. © 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

The Future of Corporate Reporting

This Special Issue originates from the Symposium titled: ‘Challenges in Corporate Reporting: The Role for the Academic Community in “Non-Financial” Reporting’, which took place at the 42nd European Accounting Association (EAA) Annual Congress in May 2019 in Paphos, Cyprus, and was attended by one of the guest editors as a panelist.1 The Call for Papers was open and public, hence inviting any researcher interested in the subject to submit a manuscript. It aimed to provide a high-quality outlet for presenting research insights and findings from various perspectives on corporate reporting. It is important to highlight that the COVID-19 pandemic (which began even before the Special Issue’s deadline) has made the editorial process more difficult for everyone involved – particularly the authors and the reviewers whom we sincerely thank for their perseverance and support in the editorial process, respectively. Thanks to them, we have finally been able to complete the Special Issue in December 2021, with seven papers passing the thorough and rigorous peer review process, and eventually accepted for publication. In the Call for Papers, we had stated that the Special Issue was particularly interested in ‘stimulating the debate about the status quo and future directions of corporate reporting’ and we invited ‘papers dealing with the broad area of narrative reports, both financial and nonfinancial (e.g. IFRS management commentary, management reporting, nonfinancial reporting, reporting on climate change, integrated reporting)’. This collection of seven papers provides a solid response to this call