This session explores the notion of controllability - a foundational concept in performance measurement and management control. Drawing on insights from the paper “What Is This Thing Called Controllability? A Field Study of the Integration of the Controllability Principle in the Redesign of a Performance Measurement System” (Chua, Graaf & Kraus), the seminar will discuss how control systems evolve and how organizations grapple with defining what managers can truly be held responsible for.

The study follows the multi-dimensional measurement of municipal quality and reveals how different interpretations of the controllability principle - narrow versus broad - lead to tensions and temporary ‘solutions’ about what should count as ‘quality’. It also shows how the introduction of the controllability principle can paradoxically make organizations less capable of addressing complex societal and environmental challenges, such as sustainability and migration.

Please note that breakfast will be served at 7:30. 

Register here.