The Cognitive Load Effects of Enabling and Coercive Management Control Systems on Employee Learning

This thesis experimentally investigates whether the design of management control systems (MCS) affects employee learning. The results suggest that the effects of flexibility and repair on employee learning are conditioned on having access to the control logic (internal transparency), the timing to introduce such enabling characteristics, and employees’ incentive contracts. The results also suggest that non-enabling controls direct employees’ cognitive resources to non-controlled aspects of a complex task, simplifying the task and facilitating learning. The findings of this thesis contribute to a better understanding of the enabling and coercive MCS on employee learning.