Leadership Style, Management Control and Innovation: The Role of Control Levers

Abstract

Based on transformational and transactional leadership (Bass, 2008) and on the Simons' (1995) levers of control model, this study explores leadership style as an antecedent of the definition of management control system (MCS) use and the role of its different usage types in technological innovation. The research was operationalized by a survey of 164 companies and data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Transformational leadership was confirmed as an antecedent of the interactive use of MCS and beliefs systems. Belief, interactive and boundary systems positively influence technological innovation. This means that organizations seeking to innovate in products and processes should invest in: (a) the communication of values and goals related to innovation, (b) discussions involving different areas and members of the business, including considering the possibility of interaction with external agents, and also (c) the establishment of boundaries that specify a field of action for employees, providing focus and creating conditions for development of intended actions. This research expands the knowledge about management control, indicating the ways in which organizations use their MCS to promote innovation and obtain strategic renewal.

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