The use of organic models of control in JIT firms: generalising Woodward'sfindings to modern manufacturing practices

Prior research indicates that technology plays an important role in the det ermination of management control systems. A fully developed JIT system repr esents a radical departure from the traditional approach to organising and managing mass production. In probing the management control implications of JIT, this study extends some well-established concepts from organisation t heory to the modern manufacturing practices literature to develop a framewo rk which suggests that mass production firms adopting JIT (a new technology ) must abandon a mechanistic management control system and adopt an organic model of control. Findings from three case studies describing the control structures used in JIT firms are also presented as part of the theoretical and hypothesis development. In addition, survey results are reported which are highly consistent with the framework, indicating that Woodward's findin gs (Woodward J. (1980) Industrial organization, theory and practice (2nd ed .). Oxford: Oxford University Press.) generalise (are robust) to a new tech nology. Finally, a preliminary examination into whether improvements in cer tain key areas are higher for those JIT firms utilising an organic model of management was performed and found to be consistent with expectations. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.