2004
Volume 42, Issue 1
  • ISSN: 0169-2216
  • E-ISSN: 2468-9424

Abstract

Samenvatting

Deze studie onderzocht de mate waarin managers in Nederlandse organisaties soft controls gebruiken en in hoeverre situationele bedrijfsfactoren hierop van invloed zijn. Soft controls zijn informele beheersmaatregelen, zoals het uitspreken van waardering en het tonen van voorbeeldgedrag. In deze studie verwijst ‘manager’ naar de formele managementfunctie; ‘leidinggevende’ is een brede term voor iedereen die leiding geeft. We gebruikten de zelfdeterminatietheorie om soft controls te identificeren. In aanvulling daarop gebruikten we de contingentietheorie voor inzicht in de relatie tussen organisatiefactoren en het gebruik van soft controls door managers. In totaal namen 205 managers deel aan een surveyonderzoek. Factoranalyse toonde aan dat er vier dimensies van soft controls kunnen worden onderscheiden: het faciliteren van medewerkers ten aanzien van hun: (1) autonomie, (2) persoonlijke ontwikkeling, (3) de relatie met de leidinggevende, en (4) psychologische veiligheid. De uitgevoerde latenteklasseanalyse liet zien dat managers op basis van hun soft controls-gebruik kunnen worden onderverdeeld in vier klassen, variërend van zeer laag tot zeer hoog. Hoewel de onderzochte organisatiekenmerken enige relatie hebben met het gebruik van soft controls, bleek deze relatie zwak. Vervolgonderzoek is nodig om te bepalen in hoeverre bijvoorbeeld persoonlijke eigenschappen van managers een directe of modererende rol spelen in de toepassing van soft controls.

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  • Article Type: Research Article
Keyword(s): management control; organizational characteristics; soft controls; the Netherlands
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