The goal of this research was to investigate the role of information systems (IS) in helping organizations to address the challenge of achieving a trade-off between exploitative and exploratory management control activities. The relationship between IS and management control activities is complex and stems from different theoretical backgrounds. We adopted a grounded theory approach to offer an integrative lens on this multi-facetted issue. Through the study of information systems for governance, risk management, and compliance (GRC IS) as a recent practice-driven initiative to establish the means for balancing exploitative and exploratory management control activities, we developed a grounded model of the relationship between IS and management control activities. Our model highlights the ways in which GRC IS serve as a catalyzer for establishing balanced management control systems that enable managers to simultaneously exploit and explore richer management control information.
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