The integration of management control systems through digital platforms: A case study

This study investigates the contribution of digital platforms to management control systems. They are hardware/software solutions able to connect people in a “social” and safe environment and to provide tools useful to create, organise, search and share documents, information, ideas, calendars and so on. Several studies have investigated the organisational implications of such platforms, but prior studies have provided little attention to their implications on management control systems (MCSs). In order to conduct the study, we examined the case of an Italian subsidiary of a European group, working in bathroom ceramic sector. We describe the introduction of a digital platform to support communication flows inside the organisation, and we illustrate how this platform has become more important as a device to support management control processes. The implementation of the digital platform affects each components of management control system and contributes to increase the level of integration among those components. The paper aims to contribute both to academia, filling the gap in studies regarding the relationship between MCSs and ICTs, and to practitioners, highlighting how a digital platform could be implemented to support management control processes.