Friction as a factor in management control creation : opening up black boxes

• Management accounting and management control change and design has been the topic of several studies. The traditional manner for studying such processes is to use ostensive theories like institutional theory or structuration theory – or even a combination of them both. In this paper I attempt to open up the black box of management fashion design. I argue that a new approach – a performative approach – is needed to understand this process and I propose that the management fashion theory is a suitable starting point for such studies due to its use of culture creation theorists. In accounting for the procedures of a minor and explorative R&D project which had as one of its goals to develop a management control system I visualizes how nothing turned into something. In this process I shun light on the non applicability of institutional theory as a mean of understanding these procedures.

Keyword

Actor-Network Theory

Friction

Innovation

Publication and Content Type

vet (subject category)

kon (subject category)