An Empirical Investigation of the Principal Top Management Styles in the Emphasis of Multiple Forms of Controls

This study offers empirical evidence of the principal top management styles in the emphasis of multiple forms of controls. In particular, it analyzed the principal styles in how top managers emphasize financial, nonfinancial and selected behavioral (action accountability) controls in the performance evaluations of foreign subsidiary managers and whether the different styles result in performance differences. Hypotheses were tested, using cluster analysis and analysis of variance, with documentary and survey data collected from business unit top managers of multinational companies headquartered in Finland. The results identify, describe and profile a total of six principal styles in the emphasis of financial, nonfinancial and behavioral controls. Overall, the results demonstrate that managers differ significantly in the way they emphasize controls and that all styles are not as effective in enhancing performance