An Overview of Control Systems from a Business Perspective

Firms use different types of control systems to support business strategies. The aim of this work is to study four types of control systems studied in the literature under a management control view (goal congruence or management control systems, performance measurements systems, internal control systems, and risk management systems) using a bibliometric approach. The results indicate that areas of performance measurements and risk management are the most studied topics in control systems research. Furthermore, control systems in business are studied not only in accounting literature but also in finance, strategy, and operations. While goal congruence and performance measurement are studied mainly by journals specialized in Accounting, the works published on risk management and internal control are published in journals on Finance, Operations and Corporate Governance journals. Each type of control is not mutually exclusive. Instead, they all converge towards the shared goal of ensuring compliance and alignment with organizational objectives.