Management Control in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises - Indirect Control Forms, Control Combinations and their Effect on Company Performance

Management control is a key function executed by managers, however a rather neglected topic in management research. Jens Hutzshenreuter determines the effect of management control forms on the performance of innovative small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). His findings suggest that in fact indirect control forms such as personnel recruiting processes and cultural elements have a stronger performance impact than traditional control forms such as budgeting or process reviews. In addition, he determines that the simultaneous application (control combinations) of different control forms is beneficial due to the increased information exchange between manager and employees.