Management control and ICTs: the bidirectional link. The case of Granarolo.

In literature, most of the authors recognized the role of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in improving business management practices, such as those of management accounting and control. Nevertheless, ICTs can produce complex problems that need to be properly managed. Management control activities can play a crucial role in the management of such complexities, representing a driver for ICT adoption. Despite this, very few studies focused on the role of the management control system in the implementation process of a new technology. This chapter aims to address this topic by investigating the case of the biggest Italian milk company. The case study results show how management control system played a key role in managing innovation in its three main dimensions, fostering the introduction of a new ICT. For its part the ICT, after its adoption, affected several management control practices. This allowed us to demonstrate the existence of a bidirectional link between management control systems and ICT.