The Effects of Uncertainty and Use of Management Control System upon Strategic Priorities and Performance: An Exploratory Study of Finnish Firms

Abstract

The study explores goal how the use of management control systems and uncertainty affects the relationship between strategy and performance. Unlike previous research, our study used the integrated typology of Porter (1980) and Miles and Snow (1978) and discusses how these strategic considerations are taken together to determine the use of management control system and performance when confronted with combinations of task and environmental uncertainty. Our hypothesis was tested in a survey study among 211 companies in Finland. The evidence indicates that while the generic strategies are applicable, firms pursuing the hybrid strategy showed the highest performance with high use of diagnostic and interactive management control systems. Our findings suggest that the strategy of cost leadership and differentiation can be used simultaneously depending on the level of uncertainty facing the organizations