A new research paper by Thomas Toldbod and with a co-author from Aalborg University has been published in Management Accounting Research. In the paper titled “Time and the sequential integration of management controls in open innovation between Unilever and its partners: A procedural perspective we explore” we investigate how Unilever at its partners used management controls to within the context of an open innovation project to support their pursuit of both strategic and operational fit. The FOODS project illustrates that alternating between opposing management controls throughout the distinct phases of a three-and-a-half-year open innovation process enabled the partners to balance their varied strategic and operational goals.

The paper is open access here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mar.2024.100901