The Role of Information Systems in Supporting Exploitative and Exploratory Management Control Activities
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
12-2012
Publisher
American Accounting Association
Abstract
The goal of this research was to investigate the role of information systems (IS) in helping organizations to address the challenge of achieving a trade-off between exploitative and exploratory management control activities. The relationship between IS and management control activities is complex and stems from different theoretical backgrounds. We adopted a grounded theory approach to offer an integrative lens on this multi-faceted issue. Through the study of information systems for governance, risk management, and compliance (GRC IS) as a recent practice-driven initiative to establish the means for balancing exploitative and exploratory management control activities, we developed a grounded model of the relationship between IS and management control activities. Our model highlights the ways in which GRC IS serve as a catalyzer for establishing balanced management control systems that enable managers to simultaneously exploit and explore richer management control information.
Recommended Citation
Schermann, M., Wiesche, M., and Krcmar, H. (2012): ”The Role of Information Systems in Supporting Exploitative and Exploratory Management Control Activities”, Journal of Management Accounting Research (24:1), 31-59.
