Management control practices & benefits: evidence from Italian family and non-family firms

Abstract: The importance of management accounting systems to the running of an organisation is widely recognised, even though these tools are not uniformly adopted by companies, with significant differences seen between small and large enterprises, family and non-family firms. The research was conducted through an empirical analysis of a sample of small and medium-sized Italian family and non-family firms, with the aim of investigating the different types of management control systems implemented. Furthermore, seeking to fill the existing gap in the literature, the paper focuses on the benefits perceived by the users of these systems. The results show that, both in family and non-family firms, a considerable percentage of managers gained significant benefits, especially as regards decision-making processes, business growth, business innovation and performance improvement. The article may have some theoretical implications as it may be considered a development in research studies on management control systems and family business management.