Developing Mobility Management Controls by local governments: A case of Belgium

Purpose This study aims at exploring the current development of management control practice in support of local government mobility strategy. More specifically, we use institutional theory as our theoretical lens to analyze how social institutional pressures and structures (such as regulation, culture or norms) have influenced (either enabled or constrained) the development of management controls for mobility in local government. Research method An exploratory case study method was applied for the purpose of this study. The package of mobility controls developed by local governments in Belgium is explored with reference to the model proposed by Malmi and Brown (2008). Semi-structured interviews were conducted with senior manager(s) responsible for mobility issues and secondary data were collected in two local governments in Belgium. Findings The research shows that the package of mobility controls is still underdeveloped in Belgian local governments. There are significant diversities between the two regions (Wallonia and Flanders) in terms of implementation, execution and development of mobility controls. Although regulatory, cultural and social normative influences are either enabling or constraining the development of mobility controls, local cultural support and mobility actors’ collaboration appear to be the most important institutional factors for mobility development. Contribution/implication Prior studies suggest that management controls play a key role in strategy implementation and formulation. While the public sector such as local government organisations are encouraged to use sustainability management accounting and control tools, understanding of their management control practices and the inherent difficulties in operationalizing EMCS remains limited. A timely exploration of institutional enablers/ constraints and similarities/differences of Flemish and Walloon mobility controls contributes to our understanding of EMCS issues in practice. It also provides policy implications for future improvement of EMCS development