O papel do controlo de gestão no setor público empresarial

: o caso da Administração do Porto de Aveiro

Abstract

The importance of a depth study about the role and impact of management control systems in enterprises is related to its function in strategy execution. Anthony and Govindarajan (2001) describe management control as “the process by which managers at all levels guarantee that its subordinates implement the deliberate strategy”. It this is relevant to deepen the study of the process of change in management control in the context of enterprises belonging to the public sector given its specificities. This case study seeks to understand the role of management control in the public sector and explain the process of change by identifying the main agents. It was conducted a single case study, the case of Port of Aveiro’s Administration. This case was chosen because it was recognized its interest in a previous contact during the classes of Integrated Systems of Strategy Execution and the enterprise also recognized the interest behind this study. In order to achieve the objectives set it was studied the evolution of management control mechanisms used by Port of Aveiro’s Administration since its creation by decree-law no. 339/98 of november 3 until 2018. The results prove the expected importance of legal context in explaining the changes generated in management control systems between 1998 and 2018. Nevertheless, this is not the only explanatory factor, being relevant to consider the role played by management consultants and the board of directors as agents of change. It is also highlighted the introduction of measures associated with New Public Management.

Date of Award	9 Jul 2018
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	José Miguel Pereira dos Santos de Oliveira (Supervisor) & Luís Marques (Supervisor)