The Appropriation of Management Control Tools: A literature review

Abstract

Over the past decades, public organizations have experienced an increasing diffusion of management control tools. Inspired by New Public Management (Hood, 1991), this evolution aims to enhance performance, transparency, and accountability. However, the actual effectiveness of these instruments largely depends on their appropriation by public actors, who cannot be reduced to passive implementers. This paper provides a conceptual literature review on the appropriation of management control tools in the public sector. The methodology is based on a critical and cross-cutting analysis of the main theoretical frameworks mobilized in management studies, notably the representationist, pragmatic, and semiotic approaches (Lorino, 2002), appropriative perspectives (De Vaujany, 2006; Grimand, 2012), as well as organizational legitimacy theory (Suchman, 1995). The findings highlight that appropriation constitutes a multidimensional, evolving, and socially constructed process, integrating rational, socio-political, cognitive, and symbolic dimensions. They also emphasize the central role of legitimacy in the success or failure of the appropriation of management control tools. The discussion shows that the analysis of appropriation needs to move beyond an instrumental view of management control to incorporate actor dynamics, institutional contexts, and legitimization logics. This review thus contributes to enriching the theoretical understanding of the appropriation of management control tools in public organizations and opens avenues for future empirical research.