Management control systems as a package in a hybrid organization - A case study of a Swedish elite football organization

Sammanfattning: This paper investigates the management control system (MCS) package in a hybrid organization. The aim of the study is to increase the knowledge and insight regarding how the design and use of the MCS package manage the co-existence of competing institutional logics in hybrid organizations. To reach this aim we have conducted an in-depth case study of a Swedish elite football organization, Public F.C., and have identified two inherent logics: the business logic and the sports logic. Combining Malmi & Brown's (2008) MCS package framework with findings from previous research within institutional logics and hybrid organizations, we have constructed a theoretical framework, which has guided the collection and analysis of data. Our findings show that the MCS package managed the co-existence of sports- and business logics by enabling the maintenance of separate institutional identities, while also facilitating collaboration and negotiation. We show how this was made possible by the design and use of the various MCSs; firstly, by designing and using the administrative controls as facilitators of collaboration and separation between the logics, and secondly, by designing and using a unique set of classic formal and cultural controls within each logic. Drawing upon Abernethy & Chua's (1996) definition of internal consistency, we suggest that these two sets could be considered smaller, individual control packages, within the large MCS package.