The Role of Management Controls in Managing Competing Institutional Logics: A Case Study of a Non-Government Organization

This study investigates how non-government organizations (NGOs) dynamically manage competing institutional logics (social logic, emphasizing beneficiary well-being, and financial accountability logic, prioritizing fiscal prudence, regulatory compliance, and structured reporting) through evolving management controls (MCs). Although existing research typically captures static or episodic snapshots of this tension, we provide a longitudinal qualitative analysis to understand how MCs are continuously adapted in response to ongoing external accountability pressures and internal staff interpretations. Drawing on extensive interviews and documentary evidence, we find that managing competing institutional logics is an iterative, nonlinear process, characterized by MCs shifting fluidly among segmenting, bridging, and demarcating functions over time. By explicitly introducing a temporal dimension, this study contributes to institutional logic and MC literature, highlighting how NGOs use MCs to maintain legitimacy and mission alignment amid competing institutional logics.