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- All HBS Web (2,134)
- Faculty Publications (669)
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- December 2016 (Revised May 2018)
- Module Note
Strategy Execution Module 15: Using the Levers of Control to Implement Strategy
By: Robert Simons
This module reading pulls together key concepts and techniques from the Strategy Execution series into an integrated model—the levers of control. The four levers are: (1) belief systems, (2) boundary systems, (3) diagnostic control systems, and (4) interactive control... View Details
Keywords: Management Control Systems; Implementing Strategy; Execution; Levers Of Control; Balancing Innovation And Control; Managing Growing Businesses; Turn Around Management; Human Behavior; Organizational Life Cycle; Strategy; Management Systems; Performance; Measurement and Metrics; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Behavior
Simons, Robert. "Strategy Execution Module 15: Using the Levers of Control to Implement Strategy." Harvard Business School Module Note 117-115, December 2016. (Revised May 2018.)
- Forthcoming
- Article
The Effect of a System for Sharing Best Practices Within Pre-existing Peer Networks
By: Shelley Xin Li and Tatiana Sandino
Peer networks, such as enterprise social networks (ESNs), can facilitate knowledge transfer across employees. However, such systems can also lead to information overload or difficulty in finding useful information. We examine data from a natural field experiment where... View Details
- 2021
- Article
How Top Managers Use the Entrepreneurial Gap to Drive Strategic Change
By: Robert L. Simons and Antonio Davila
Prior research provides strong evidence for the association between business strategy and the design and use of management control systems. We complement this research by examining the role of management control systems in situations of strategic change. We report the... View Details
Keywords: Management Control Systems; Accountability; Strategic Change; Organization Change And Adaptation; Organizational Performance; Management Systems; Organizational Structure; Corporate Accountability; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Performance
Simons, Robert L., and Antonio Davila. "How Top Managers Use the Entrepreneurial Gap to Drive Strategic Change." European Accounting Review 30, no. 4 (2021): 583–609.
- 2008
- Chapter
Management Accounting in India
This chapter surveys the history, evolution, and current status of accounting systems and practices in India. Tracing the roots of Indian accounting systems to the ancient civilization of the Indus Valley, we discuss the accounting contributions of historical writings... View Details
- 24 Jun 2013
- Working Paper Summaries
The Entrepreneurial Gap: How Managers Adjust Span of Accountability and Span of Control to Implement Business Strategy
Keywords: by Robert L. Simons
- June 1999 (Revised May 2017)
- Teaching Note
Guidant Corporation: Shaping Culture Through Systems
By: Robert Simons and Antonio Dávila
Teaching Note for (9-198-076). View Details
- 13 Oct 2010
- Working Paper Summaries
Employee Selection as a Control System
- 2008
- Other Unpublished Work
Accounting, Risk Management and the Aftermath of a Control Debacle
By: Anette Mikes
Despite the widespread adoption of risk management systems in the financial services industry, recent control debacles highlight the apparent lack of top managerial attention to risk controls. Yet in order to understand the workings and uses of risk controls (or any... View Details
- 2000
- Article
The Consequences of Customization on the Use of Management Accounting Systems
By: J. Bouwens and Margaret A. Abernethy
The understanding of the antecedent conditions influencing the design of management accounting systems (MASs) is very limited. In recent years, significant research attention has been devoted to understanding how different strategic priorities influence these systems.... View Details
Bouwens, J., and Margaret A. Abernethy. "The Consequences of Customization on the Use of Management Accounting Systems." Accounting, Organizations and Society 25, no. 3 (April 2000): 221–241.
- 2010
- Working Paper
Employee Selection as a Control System
By: Dennis Campbell
Theories from the economics, management control, and organizational behavior literatures predict that when it is difficult to align incentives by contracting on output, aligning preferences via employee selection may provide a useful alternative. This study... View Details
Keywords: Accounting; Decision Making; Governance Controls; Employees; Selection and Staffing; Management Systems; Financial Services Industry
Campbell, Dennis. "Employee Selection as a Control System." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 11-021, August 2010. (Revised September 2010, April 2012.)
- September 2016
- Article
The Effect of Target Difficulty on Target Completion: The Case of Reducing Carbon Emissions
By: Ioannis Ioannou, Shelley Xin Li and George Serafeim
Targets are an integral component of management control systems and play a significant role in achieving desirable performance outcomes. We focus on a key environmental performance objective—reduction of carbon emissions—as a setting in which to examine how target... View Details
Keywords: Sustainability; Target-setting; Management Accounting; Management Accounting And Control Systems; Control Systems; Sustainable Development; Environment; Goals and Objectives; Climate Change; Management Systems; Accounting; Environmental Sustainability
Ioannou, Ioannis, Shelley Xin Li, and George Serafeim. "The Effect of Target Difficulty on Target Completion: The Case of Reducing Carbon Emissions." Accounting Review 91, no. 5 (September 2016): 1467–1492.
- Article
Employee Selection as a Control System
By: Dennis Campbell
Theories from the economics, management control, and organizational behavior literatures predict that when it is difficult to align incentives by contracting on output, aligning preferences via employee selection may provide a useful alternative. This study... View Details
Keywords: Management Systems; Governance Controls; Employees; Selection and Staffing; Motivation and Incentives; Decision Making; Business Model
Campbell, Dennis. "Employee Selection as a Control System." Journal of Accounting Research 50, no. 4 (September 2012): 931–966.
- 2000
- Book
Performance Measurement and Control Systems for Implementing Strategy
By: R. Simons
Simons, R. Performance Measurement and Control Systems for Implementing Strategy. Prentice Hall, 2000.
- July 2004
- Article
Determinants of Control System Design in Divisionalized Firms
By: Margaret A. Abernethy, Jan Bouwens and Laurence van Lent
We investigate two determinants of two choices in the control system of divisionalized firms, namely decentralization and use of performance measures. The two determinants are those identified in the literature as important to control system design: (1) information... View Details
Keywords: Design; Organizational Design; Business Divisions; Management Systems; Performance Evaluation
Abernethy, Margaret A., Jan Bouwens, and Laurence van Lent. "Determinants of Control System Design in Divisionalized Firms." Accounting Review 79, no. 3 (July 2004): 545–570.
- November 2016 (Revised December 2016)
- Module Note
Strategy Execution Module 14: Managing Strategic Risk
By: Robert Simons
This module reading provides an overview of the business conduct boundaries, strategic boundaries, and internal control systems used to manage risk. Boundary systems—linked to clear, enforceable sanctions—are essential whenever demanding performance goals are set and... View Details
Keywords: Management Control Systems; Implementing Strategy; Strategy Execution; Boundary Systems; Innovation; Internal Controls; Fraud; Human Behavior; Staff Experts; Strategy; Risk Management; Behavior; Governance Controls; Management Practices and Processes; Boundaries; Employees; Business Strategy; Innovation and Invention
Simons, Robert. "Strategy Execution Module 14: Managing Strategic Risk." Harvard Business School Module Note 117-114, November 2016. (Revised December 2016.)
- Teaching Interest
Financial Reporting and Control
By: Suraj Srinivasan
Financial Reporting and Control (FRC) covers topics about how managers can design and use performance measurement systems for external reporting and internal management to build more effective organizations. Throughout their careers, business leaders are required to... View Details
Keywords: Financial Reporting
- September 2016 (Revised March 2017)
- Module Note
Strategy Execution Module 3: Using Information for Performance Measurement and Control
By: Robert Simons
This module reading explains how managers use information to control critical business processes and outcomes. The analysis begins by illustrating how managers use information to communicate goals and track performance. Then the focus turns to the choices that managers... View Details
Keywords: Management Control Systems; Implementing Strategy; Strategy Execution; Organization Process; Feedback Model; Innovation; Uses Of Information; Big Data; Benchmarking; Decision Making; Information; Performance Evaluation; Analytics and Data Science
Simons, Robert. "Strategy Execution Module 3: Using Information for Performance Measurement and Control." Harvard Business School Module Note 117-103, September 2016. (Revised March 2017.)
- 03 Feb 2010
- Working Paper Summaries
Accountability and Control as Catalysts for Strategic Exploration and Exploitation: Field Study Results
Keywords: by Robert L. Simons
- September 2006
- Tutorial
Management Control Process - Online Tutorial
By: David F. Hawkins
Introduces the Management Control Process by detailing its six components: 1) the management control environment, 2) organizational structure and responsibilities, 3) information and communication, 4) management control systems, 5) incentives, and 6) monitoring.... View Details
- June 1998
- Article
Using Delegation and Control Systems to Mitigate the Trade-off between the Performance-Evaluation and Belief-Revision Uses of Accounting Standards
By: V.G. Narayanan and A. Davila
Narayanan, V.G., and A. Davila. "Using Delegation and Control Systems to Mitigate the Trade-off between the Performance-Evaluation and Belief-Revision Uses of Accounting Standards." Special Issue on Mastering Finance Series. Journal of Accounting & Economics 25, no. 3 (June 1998).