Controlling in Germany from the View of Practitioners and Students – An Empirical Study

Walter Ruda () and Bernhard Dackiw ()
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Walter Ruda: Kaiserslautern University of Applied Sciences
Bernhard Dackiw: Kaiserslautern University of Applied Sciences

from Óbuda University, Keleti Faculty of Business and Management

Abstract: This study examines the characteristics of controlling in German small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), also known as “German Mittelstand”. By the use of a concise explication of differences but also similarities between the characteristics in SMEs and large companies, a framework concerning different spheres of the job needs depending on the company size can be created. The study started questioning controllers in German enterprises in 2003 and is still ongoing, after a study redesign in 2008 without changing the core questions. Furthermore students were also asked in the context of the study. Considerable overlaps concerning the organisational structure of the controlling divisions between the estimations of the students and the controllers can be found. But an extensive unity of both interviewed groups exits with the personality traits of the controller. They assess the relevance of the personality traits in a similar way. There are some differences between the images of the controller, which are experienced by the controller and are expected by the students. The estimation to the controller’s task fields of the controllers differs from that of the students. For some more reasons the study proves that the controlling in SMEs differs in some fields significantly from that in large-scale enterprises. Possible implications like for university teachings are discussed and some new ideas for further even deeper research are given.

Keywords: Controlling; controller; Controllership; German Mittelstand; small and medium-sized enterprises; job description; image; task fields; personality traits; organisational structure (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
ISBN: 9786155460470
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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