Management control in internationalized brazilian companies: a eight cases comparative study

The objective of this study is to determine whether the internationalization of a company’s operations has an impact on its management control systems. Using the case study methodology, the paper analyzes eight cases of Brazilian companies with international activities. The research was guided by the premise that, as the geographical scope of a company’s operations enlarges, its administrative complexity also grows—demanding the adoption of new and more sophisticated controls systems. The literature on management control (see Anthony & Govindarajan, 1998; Dyment, 1987; Gomes and Amat, 2001; Merchant, 1998; among others) provides a relatively similar treatment to the subject of management control of internationalized companies.