Management control system and employee and institutional performance in the digital transition: A levers-of-control case study of BAPENDA Manado City
Abstract
Digital transformation in the public sector encourages government organizations to strengthen their Management Control System (MCS) in order to support improvements in employee and institutional performance. This study aims to analyze the implementation of the MCS at the Regional Revenue Agency (BAPENDA) of Manado City, its role in improving employee performance, and its impact on institutional performance, analyzed through Simons' (2000) Levers of Control framework. This research uses a qualitative approach with a case study method. Data were collected through interviews, observation, and documentation involving four informants, and analyzed using the interactive model of Miles and Huberman. The results show that the MCS is implemented through performance-target setting, task distribution, monitoring and evaluation, a reward-and-punishment mechanism, and the use of digital systems such as SILADEN, AARS, and SMARTGOV. The implementation of the MCS is associated with improvements in employee discipline, responsibility, productivity, motivation, and accountability. In addition, the implementation of the MCS coincided with a rise in Regional Original Revenue (PAD) achievement, from Rp202.83 billion in 2020 to Rp408.40 billion in 2024, as well as with improvements in service quality, transparency, and institutional supervision; because the study uses a single qualitative case design without a comparison baseline, this association should be read as suggestive rather than as proof that the MCS alone caused the PAD increase, given concurrent post-pandemic economic recovery and national tax-digitalization mandates over the same period. Although challenges remain in technology adaptation and in data management, particularly data-reconciliation processes across systems that are not yet fully real-time, overall, the MCS has supported improvements in both employee and institutional performance.