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Packages of management control systems, entrepreneurial orientation and performance in Brazilian startups

Anderson Betti Frare (Graduate Program in Accounting, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianopolis, Brazil)
Ana Paula Capuano da Cruz (Accounting Department, Federal University of Rio Grande, Rio Grande, Brazil)
Carlos Eduardo Facin Lavarda (Accounting Department, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianopolis, Brazil)
Chris Akroyd (Department of Accounting and Information Systems, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand)

Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change

ISSN: 1832-5912

Article publication date: 11 October 2021

Issue publication date: 4 October 2022

1015

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to understand the relationship between the elements of a startup firms’ management control system (MCS) package, its entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and firm performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors collected survey data from a sample of 100 Brazilian startups who had exited technology-based parks and incubators. The authors used two data analysis techniques, namely, partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA).

Findings

The findings show that cultural and planning controls were the only two MCS elements that were included in all high-performing startup firms’ MCS packages. The authors also found that EO has a positive influence on firm performance through the MCS package.

Research limitations/implications

The mixed-method approach allowed for a holistic view of the analyzed phenomenon. PLS-SEM analysis was applied to the symmetric relationships between the proposed relationships while fsQCA was used to analyze the asymmetric combinations between EO dimensions and MCS package elements, which promoted high firm performance.

Practical implications

The authors show how different combinations of MCS elements form a package, mediating EO, which can enable high performance.

Originality/value

Using fsQCA and PLS-SEM, the authors were able to better understand the important role that MCS package adoption has on a startups’ performance and provide new evidence regarding the interface between MCS and EO. This extends the understanding of the importance that cultural and planning controls have in an MCS package to support startup performance.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the editor and the two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments and suggestions. This study was financed in part by the Research Support Foundation of the State of Rio Grande do Sul (FAPERGS), Brazil.

Citation

Frare, A.B., Cruz, A.P.C.d., Lavarda, C.E.F. and Akroyd, C. (2022), "Packages of management control systems, entrepreneurial orientation and performance in Brazilian startups", Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change, Vol. 18 No. 5, pp. 643-665. https://doi.org/10.1108/JAOC-04-2021-0052

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited

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