Português Dualism between Creativity and Controls aimed at Innovation:
The moderating effect of Simons’ Levers of control in the context of Startups
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17524/repec.v17i4.3274Keywords:
Alavancas de Controle, Criatividade, InovaçãoAbstract
Objetivo: To verify the moderating effect of levers of control on creativity and innovation among startups.
Method: A survey was used to collect data, which were treated using descriptive statistics, structural
equation modeling, and linear regressions. The sample comprised companies at the gaining traction,
operation, or scaling-up stages registered on the database of the Brazilian Startup Association (ABStartups);
153 responses were obtained.
Results: Direct relationships were found, corroborating previous studies’ results. Additionally, moderation
tests highlighted other forms of interaction between the different types of management control (positive
and negative) and creativity and innovation. The findings regarding moderating roles represent
advancement to previous studies. The results showed that although beliefs and diagnostic controls act as
opposing forces, they presented similar (negative) moderating effects in the duality between positive and
negative controls. The hypothesis tests’ results, which were the opposite of what was expected, provide
insights into different forms of interaction between the levers; i.e., not only the use of controls but also the
intensity in which they are used may affect these relationships.
Contributions: The results help startup managers understand that when controls are balanced and applied
together, they do not inhibit creativity or innovation; instead, they can be used to enhance them, a finding
not previously reported in the literature.
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