The Development Of Management Control Systems In Remote-Work Solutions: An Organizational Learning Perspective

Background: Management control systems have long been used to assist organizations in performing and assessing their operations. The emergence of Covid-19 led to a rapid increase in remote work and this altered the work environments for organizations. This posed new challenges for organizations such as limited observability and boundary and performance management issues. Previous literature has investigated the early consequences of Covid-19. This thesis aims to investigate how management control systems have developed during the 5-year period following the outbreak of Covid-19. Purpose: The aim of this thesis is to understand how management control systems have been developed and adapted since the start of Covid-19 to better suit remote-work solutions, and what organizations have learned in the process. Method: The thesis used a qualitative research approach with a process study, where semi- structured interviews were conducted with eight managers in eight consulting organizations. The findings were structured with temporal bracketing and analyzed through a thematic analysis. The thesis used an abductive approach, with a constructionist ontology and an interpretative epistemology. Findings: This study finds that the development of management control systems have emphasized belief systems and interactive control systems to facilitate remote-work solutions. According to the empirical findings, these levers promote flexibility and creativity, which is considered key for organizations to succeed in remote-work solutions. The study showed important learnings for how the changed work environment affects organizations’ routines and values. Furthermore, double-loop learnings happened primarily after Covid-19 as organizations need time to reflect and learn from their experiences.