The Impact Of Cultural Resemblance On Management Control Of Supplier Relations: Longitudinal Evidence In The Automotive

This study explores the impact of cultural resemblance on the Management Control System (MCS) of supplier relationships. Although MCSs are contingent on situational characteristics and this contingency fit is associated with good performance, it remains unclear whether cultural resemblance between manufacturer and supplier contributes to the speed of MCS change, so that temporary misfits due to changing circumstances are less likely to occur. To illustrate this effect of cultural resemblance on MCS dynamics, the authors perform a twofold longitudinal case study of similar automotive manufacturer-supplier relationships that differ with respect to cultural resemblance.