Management control systems from an organisational life cycle perspective: the role of input, behaviour and output controls

This study examines the association between the adoption of three types of controls (input, behaviour and output) and Miller and Friesen’s (1984) organizational life cycle (OLC) stages (birth, growth, maturity, revival and decline). Data were collected by a survey questionnaire from a random sample of 1000 General Managers in Australian manufacturing business units. The results indicate that the extent of adoption of controls is associated with OLC stages. Specifically, both behaviour and input controls were found to be adopted to a significantly greater extent than output controls within the birth stage with similar findings within the growth stage. All three types of controls were adopted to a similar level within the maturity and revival stages. An exploratory examination of the extent of adoption of controls across OLC stages revealed that each type of control was adopted to a significantly greater extent within the growth and revival stages than the birth and maturity stages. The study contributes to the literature filling a gap by linking OLC studies to MCS studies. Most importantly, the study assists Australian manufacturing business units in adopting the most appropriate controls within each OLC stage and across OLC stages.