Upper echelon characteristics and the use of management control systems: an integrative review

Abstract

Top management teams use Management Control Systems (MCS) to guide the performances of their subordinates and also the decisions made by them, promoting and implementing strategies based on the organizational behavior. The choices made by upper echelon members can determine how the organizational goals will be achieved by using MCS. This integrative review aims to examine the literature addressing the ways in which upper level executives use Management Control Systems in organizations, highlighting and categorizing the expected linkage between the use of MCS and upper echelons characteristics. The results allowed a synthesis of the theme based on the identification of a taxonomy for top managers’ characteristics that have influenced on MCS usages, as well as some provocative questions as a way of reflection for future researches.