Influence of leadership style on the management control system in the undersecretariat of the Ministry of Health

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5902/1983465993808

Keywords:

Leadership styles, Public sector, Management control systems

Abstract

The study analyzes, based on the perception of civil servants led by the Undersecretariat for Administrative Affairs of the Ministry of Health, the influence of transactional and transformational leadership styles on the use of management control systems (MCS). To this end, a survey was conducted with civil servants from administrative units of the Ministry of Health, using research instruments adapted from Souza and Junior (2018) and Damke et al. (2011). These instruments, in turn, are derived from the theoretical models of Bass and Avolio (1995) and Simons (1995), allowing for the collection of respondents’ perceptions of both their managers’ leadership style and the use of MCS. The sample consists of 72 subordinates, whose responses to the questionnaire were provided via Google Forms. Descriptive statistics were used in the data analysis, and Structural Equation Modeling was applied for hypothesis testing. The results showed that transformational leadership is not a precursor to the use of MCS and that, in the public sector, considering the administrative units surveyed, transactional leadership style plays an important role in explaining the choices of diagnostic and interactive systems, but not the belief system or the limits system. The study also provides insights into the preponderance of followers inclined toward the premises of homo economicus.

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Author Biographies

Leandro Mendes, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina

Specialist of Public Management from Federal University of Goiás;  Master of Planning and Management Control from Federal University of Santa Catarina; and Tax Auditor at Brazilian Secretariat of the Federal Revenue.

Viviane Theiss, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina

PhD in Accounting from the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC); Professor of the Postgraduate Program in Management Planning and Control (PPGCG).

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Published

2026-03-24

How to Cite

Mendes, L., & Theiss, V. (2026). Influence of leadership style on the management control system in the undersecretariat of the Ministry of Health. Revista De Administração Da UFSM, 19(19), e2. https://doi.org/10.5902/1983465993808