Effects of control mechanisms on positive organizational change
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to describe an application of key concepts in agency theory to organizational development. Specifically, it seeks to highlight that formal control systems, the ways to regulate employees' performance, are associated with an important factor for organizational development – the capacity for improvement.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper presents a literature review on organizational development and agency theory, and an empirical examination of the relationships between bureaucratic control systems, task programmability and the organization's capacity for improvement. The hypotheses of interrelationships among different control systems, task programmability and the capacity for improvement were tested with a sample of 237 employees in the service industry.
Findings
Results indicate that input control is a significant factor in determining an organization's capacity for improvement, and task programmability moderates the relation between a bureaucratic control and the organization's capacity for improvement.
Research limitations/implications
The results are based on a cross‐sectional self‐report study. It is advisable to include managers' assessment of subordinates' capacity of improvement in further research.
Originality/value
The effect of formal controls on organizational performance was controversial. This paper reveals the moderating role of task programmability in a control‐performance relationship. In doing so, this paper sheds light on how a manager can enhance his/her subordinates' performance on organizational improvement through different control tactics.
Keywords
Citation
Tat Wai Yu, B. and Wai Ming, T. (2008), "Effects of control mechanisms on positive organizational change", Journal of Organizational Change Management, Vol. 21 No. 3, pp. 385-404. https://doi.org/10.1108/09534810810874840
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2008, Emerald Group Publishing Limited