Management Control in Family Business. A Literature Review
In the last few years the relevance of family firms in the global economy has foster the scientific debate on this field. The specific characteristics of these business make the analysis of management control tools used by family firms particularly interesting. Given the growing attention to this topic, through a systematic literature review, this paper intends to outline the main issues on the use of management control and management accounting tools in family businesses. The results show three main streams of literature: 1) the element that differentiate the management control choices of family firms from non-family firms; 2) the influence of the leadership style on the use of formal or informal management control tools; 3) the development of management control system in particular stages of the family firm’s life, such as professionalization of the business, and generational succession.
The whole analysis reveals that there is an open space for the scholars interested in the development of managerial studies aimed at offering new contributions to family businesses, to identify management control tools able to adapt to the specific characteristics and context of this type of organization.
Keywords: family business, family firms, management control, management accounting, literature review
