This paper discusses several conceptual and empirical issues related to understanding combinations of management control (MC) practices. First, the paper clarifies the meaning of the two main perspectives for investigating MC combinations – MC packages and MC systems. Second, the paper considers how researchers can improve theory development concerning the effects of MC combinations by explicating the causal mechanisms through which they arise. Third, the paper discusses whether loose coupling provides an informative perspective for understanding MC combinations, particularly in relation to how organizations adapt MC practices to contextual changes. Finally, the paper comments on the main empirical approaches for investigating MC combinations. Recent studies, especially those in this special issue, are drawn upon to illustrate how these issues relate to MC research.

This study examines the influence of cultural regions on the interdependence between delegation of authority and other management control (MC) practices. In particular, we assess whether one of the central contentions of agency theory, that incentive contracting and delegation are jointly determined, holds in different cultural regions. Drawing on prior literature, we hypothesise that the MC practices that operate as a complement to delegation vary depending on societal values and preferences, and that MC practices other than incentive contracting will complement delegation in firms in non-Anglo cultural regions. Using data collected from 584 strategic business units across three Western cultural regions (Anglo, Germanic, Nordic), our results show that the interdependence between delegation and incentive contracting is confined to Anglo firms. In the Nordic and Germanic regions, we find that strategic and action planning participation operate as a complement to delegation, while delegation is also complemented by manager selection in Nordic firms. Overall, our study demonstrates that cultural values and preferences significantly influence MC interdependence, and suggests that caution needs to be taken in making cross-cultural generalisations about the complementarity of MC practices.