Abstract
Most previous research on ISD project control conceptualizes control activities in terms of control modes and focuses on performance effects at the project level. This seems to oversimplify the way controls ‘work’ by neglecting the multidimensionality of control activities and their effects at the individual level. In this paper, we adopt an expanded view of ISD project control, employing data from 92 ISD projects to analyze how different control modes (what?) and control styles (how?) relate to controllee task performance and job satisfaction. Importantly, our results suggest that control style is more important than control modes in explaining individual-level control effects. Moreover, as hypothesized, formal and informal controls positively affect task performance, while only informal controls have a positive effect on job satisfaction. Finally, we find significant interaction effects between control style and formal controls, suggesting a complex non-linear relationship between the two, which opens interesting avenues for future research.