How a multiple orientation of control reduces governance failures: a focus on monastic auditing

Emil Inauen (), Margit Osterloh, Bruno Frey and Fabian Homberg

Journal of Management & Governance, 2015, vol. 19, issue 4, 763-796

Abstract: This paper considers multiple control systems at the organizational level and argues for a nuanced and multifaceted approach for internal governance. For this undertaking, we look at a little-examined control and auditing instrument, the formalized audit procedures of Roman Catholic orders. These so-called visitations are one important pillar in the monastic governance system to counter aberrations. Utilizing surveys and interviews, we examine 96 Roman Catholic religious communities in Austria, Germany and Switzerland, and connect these visitations procedures with rule violations and sexual abuse cases. We argue that communities unaffected by scandals and rule violations rely strongly on process and clan control to address inefficiency and misconduct; whereas, affected communities focus more on business issues. We caution against the trend of relying predominantly on output-based processes while suggesting a balance between different types of control systems. Furthermore, we enhance the current discourse by considering implementation procedures of control. The religious orders attach great importance to the way control measures are carried out. To steer the behavior of their members, many successful orders even complement controls with personal support and identity strengthening. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015

Keywords: Audit; Multiple control systems; Managerial Control Theory; Religious orders; Sexual abuse scandal; Governance failures (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s10997-014-9292-y (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:kap:jmgtgv:v:19:y:2015:i:4:p:763-796

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer. ... 29/journal/10997/PS2

DOI: 10.1007/s10997-014-9292-y

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Management & Governance is currently edited by Lino Cinquini

More articles in Journal of Management & Governance from Springer, Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA) Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().