Simons Says : Strategic Variables, Levers of Control and Control Systems

There has been increased use of Simons' levers of control framework in the last decade. However, despite its increasing use there is still confusion in the literature surrounding particular aspects of the framework such as the concept of interactive control systems. This purpose of this paper is to contribute to the development of Simons' framework as an analytical tool for interpretive studies. We examine the theoretical building blocks of Simons' framework and add clarity to the relationships between strategic variables, levers of control and control systems. We develop three propositions dealing with (1) the need to differentiate strategic variables from levers of control, (2) the use of a single control system in managing multiple strategic variables, and (3) the role of management attention and energy channeled through the control system in enabling the use of the control system as a lever to manage more than one strategic variable. We discuss the implications of these propositions for researchers