Strategic alignment in decentralized organizations – The case of Svenska Handelsbanken

Mikael Cäker and Sven Siverbo

Scandinavian Journal of Management, 2014, vol. 30, issue 2, 149-162

Abstract: Recent research emphasizes technocratic controls to support the self-management aspect of empowerment. Strategic alignment is ascribed to socio-ideological controls. However, the indirect nature of socio-ideological controls pose a question regarding monitoring of strategic alignment in organizations with empowerment-oriented controls. We adopt a holistic approach in exploring the role of and interaction between organization structure, socio-ideological control and technocratic control through a qualitative case study. Our study confirms the essential role of socio-ideological controls in ensuring strategic alignment, but highlights the role of trust in experienced-based advice-giving from superiors to subordinates. Technocratic controls contain information that provide visibility of local actions and are used in hierarchical communication. The interrelationship between socio-ideological and technocratic controls is dependent on the organization structure design through time and proximity. A high capacity to communicate is thereby established, enabling monitoring without impairing empowerment.

Keywords: Strategic alignment; Empowerment; Management control; Socio-ideological control; Technocratic control; Capacity to communicate (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:scaman:v:30:y:2014:i:2:p:149-162

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DOI: 10.1016/j.scaman.2013.10.005

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