Looking for leaders: 'Balancing' innovation, risk and management control systems

Using the concept of institutional leadership we explore how leaders balance creativity and product innovation against administrative arrangements such as risk management and management control. Using two case companies we produce distinct contrasts to this balance with neither showing the ambidexterity needed to 'secure' (Selznick, 1957) the value of innovation and exploration and develop risk management and control systems for exploitative activities. One case company stuck to its past trajectory of innovation, ignoring risk management and control; the second case company had systems for its exploitative operations but was struggling to maintain any value of innovation and exploration. Nevertheless, one over-riding similarity in both organisations was that the leadership of the risk systems and management controls was with the engineers; accountants were not to be seen.