This paper examines how control strategy varies and to what extent the relationship between control modes and perceived effectiveness of control strategy is shaped by cultural dimensions. Based on the statistical analysis of empirical data from IT sector in six countries, we find that the positive correlation between formal control and perceived effectiveness of control strategy becomes stronger for higher uncertainty avoidance societies; masculinity shows a negative moderation effect on the relationship between informal control and perceived effectiveness of control strategy; and employee received trust has greater impact on perceived effectiveness of control strategy in collectivistic societies than in individualistic societies. These findings qualify existing research on the potentially conflicting role of trust and control and have important implications for management practice in intercultural context.
This article advocates a program of standard instrumentation in organization studies to improve the way knowledge is managed in the discipline. The construct ‘knowledge management’ is discussed, and the role of this construct in the theory of the firm is briefly reviewed. Then two problems of knowledge management in organization studies are identified—construct de-objectification and the difficulty of cumulating knowledge across empirical studies. The role of instrumentation in natural science is described, and it is argued that standard instrumentation in natural science helps moderate the problems of construct de-objectification and barriers to cross-study accumulation of knowledge. The possibility of implementing a program of standard instrumentation in organization studies is then discussed. It is maintained that standardized instrumentation for measuring organization studies constructs would help alleviate the knowledge management problems just mentioned. Advantages and disadvantages of the standard instrumentation program are reviewed, and the conclusion emphasizes the potential contribution of the program.
