Explaining the Unintended Consequences of Management Control Systems: Managerial Cognitions and Inertia in the Case of Nokia Mobile Phones

dc.contributorAalto-yliopistofi
dc.contributorAalto Universityen
dc.contributor.authorMalmi, Teemuen_US
dc.contributor.authorKolehmainen, Katjaen_US
dc.contributor.authorGranlund, Markusen_US
dc.contributor.departmentDepartment of Accountingen
dc.contributor.organizationUniversity of Turkuen_US
dc.contributor.organizationVerona Consulting Oyen_US
dc.date.accessioned2024-04-03T07:12:37Z
dc.date.available2024-04-03T07:12:37Z
dc.date.issued2023-05-01en_US
dc.description.abstractManagement control systems (MCS) have been known to produce unintended, dysfunctional consequences. However, relatively little is known about how MCS can contribute to the inertia and even decline of a firm. Our analysis in the abductive mode was triggered by a surprising case study observation that although Nokia Mobile Phones (NMP) certainly had many capabilities that could have facilitated a timely response to disruptive environmental change, this did not happen. In developing an explanation for this, we draw on the managerial cognitions literature, showing how the cognitions at NMP, developed in the era of organizational success, became embedded in its MCS. This embeddedness, in turn, intensified existing cognitions. As the cognitions became less accurate over time, the once effective MCS started to cause various inertial effects, such as suboptimal and slow decision-making. We contribute to the literature on the dysfunctional consequences of MCS by theorizing how MCS can contribute to inertia via cognitions in two ways: first, by reinforcing prevailing cognitions and hence preventing management from realizing a need for change; and second, by moderating the impact cognitions have on actions by delaying actions based on renewed cognitions. Both ways may be fatal, especially in hyper-competitive contexts.en
dc.description.versionPeer revieweden
dc.format.extent33
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen_US
dc.identifier.citationMalmi, T, Kolehmainen, K & Granlund, M 2023, ' Explaining the Unintended Consequences of Management Control Systems: Managerial Cognitions and Inertia in the Case of Nokia Mobile Phones ', Contemporary Accounting Research, vol. 40, no. 2, pp. 1013-1045 . https://doi.org/10.1111/1911-3846.12849en
dc.identifier.doi10.1111/1911-3846.12849en_US
dc.identifier.issn0823-9150
dc.identifier.otherPURE UUID: ac188ab4-3ef8-40e7-a79a-3604e6f58df8en_US
dc.identifier.otherPURE ITEMURL: https://research.aalto.fi/en/publications/ac188ab4-3ef8-40e7-a79a-3604e6f58df8en_US
dc.identifier.otherPURE LINK: http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85151417368&partnerID=8YFLogxKen_US
dc.identifier.otherPURE FILEURL: https://research.aalto.fi/files/142569143/Contemporary_Accting_Res_-_2022_-_Malmi_-_Explaining_the_Unintended_Consequences_of_Management_Control_Systems_Managerial.pdfen_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://aaltodoc.aalto.fi/handle/123456789/127352
dc.identifier.urnURN:NBN:fi:aalto-202404032979
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherCanadian Academic Accounting Association
dc.relation.ispartofseriesContemporary Accounting Research
dc.relation.ispartofseriesVolume 40, issue 2, pp. 1013-1045
dc.rightsopenAccessen
dc.titleExplaining the Unintended Consequences of Management Control Systems: Managerial Cognitions and Inertia in the Case of Nokia Mobile Phonesen
dc.typeA1 Alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessäfi
dc.type.versionpublishedVersion
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