The Entrepreneurial Gap: How Managers Adjust Span of Accountability and Span of Control to Implement Business Strategy

55 Pages Posted: 18 Jun 2013 Last revised: 15 Jul 2013

See all articles by Robert Simons

Robert Simons

Harvard University - Business School (HBS)

Date Written: July 15, 2013

Abstract

This study focuses on the relationship between business strategy, organization structure, and diagnostic control systems. The project analyzes data from 75 field studies to illustrate how managers adjust span of accountability and span of control to motivate different levels of innovation and entrepreneurial behavior. Six propositions are derived inductively about when, why, and how managers make these choices.

Keywords: business strategy, strategy implementation, control systems, responsibility accounting, span of accountability, organization structure, organization design; authority; span of control, controllability, entrepreneurial gap, entrepreneurship, stimulating innovation, competition

Suggested Citation

Simons, Robert, The Entrepreneurial Gap: How Managers Adjust Span of Accountability and Span of Control to Implement Business Strategy (July 15, 2013). Harvard Business School Accounting & Management Unit Working Paper No. 13-100, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2280355 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2280355

Robert Simons (Contact Author)

Harvard University - Business School (HBS) ( email )

Soldiers Field Road
Morgan 270C
Boston, MA 02163
United States

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