The changes in management control systems of industrial companies in Morocco: An exploratory study

Abstract

This article aims to study the determinants of changes in management control systems of industrial companies in Morocco. To address this topic, the concepts of management control systems and changes in these systems were defined. Theoretical frameworks and models were utilized, and previous empirical studies were reviewed, contributing to the development of a conceptual research model describing the determinants of these changes. This research refers to two theoretical frameworks, namely the contingent framework and the sociocognitive framework. Additionally, an exploratory study spanning five years (2017-2021) was conducted in the Moroccan context, involving 35 large companies operating in various industrial sectors and located in different cities across Morocco. For the analysis of the collected data, an approach based on exploratory factor analysis was adopted, implementing principal component analysis (PCA) using SPSS software.

The results highlight the complementarity of the two theoretical approaches used in developing the model, incorporating variables such as age, size, decentralization, organizational intensity, differentiation strategy, technology, and organizational learning. These identified variables are factors influencing the observed changes in management control systems within the surveyed companies. The exploratory study will be complemented, in a subsequent research phase, by a confirmatory study on an expanded sample to test the research hypotheses. For this purpose, we plan to rely on structural equation modeling, using the PLS method and the Smart PLS software in an upcoming article.

The first part of this article presents a literature review showcasing the employed theories (contingency approach and sociocognitive approaches). It highlights previous research and empirical studies that have utilized both theoretical frameworks. The second part introduces the developed conceptual research model, the adopted methodology, the selected sample, and the data collection process. The third part presents the results obtained from the exploratory study conducted with large industrial companies in Morocco, followed by an analysis of these results and the selection of an improved conceptual model.

Key-words: Management control systems, change, determinants, contingency theory, neo-institutional theory, organizational learning, industrial companies.

JEL Classification : M1

Paper type: Empirical research