AbstractThis paper reviews the literature on strategic controls. It summarizes the main theoretical arguments that have been put forward for establishing strategic control systems, and contrasts these arguments with evidence that suggests that few companies in fact have a strategic control system in place. The paper then identifies some of the difficulties that may be associated with establishing a strategic control system, points up issues that require further empirical research, and suggests a framework for exploring a contingency theory concerning the sorts of businesses in which strategic control systems would be most and least valuable.