It has been argued that companies face the challenge of being innovative
while at the same time having to standardize and control organizational
processes. While management control research has mostly focused on how
control supports innovation, the present study aims to improve our
understanding of how controls can support the co-existence of process
and management innovations with standardization. The paper adopts a
single-case study method and analyses the use of a management control
system in the context of a business process outsourcing company which
faces the simultaneous need for process and management innovation and
standardization. The study examines the relationships between different
levers of control and their nature to explain how levers of control can
create consistent and countervailing reinforcement that supports the
co-existence of innovation and standardization. Moreover, we provide an
insight into how certain controls, specifically diagnostic and
interactive lean controls, combine the levers of control, so creating
countervailing reinforcement. We show that the identified reinforcement
enables the coexistence of different innovations and standardization at
various organizational levels. Thus, the current study contributes to
the stream of research on how management controls work collectively,
acknowledging their impact on innovation and the concurrent need for
standardization.