Management control and multidimensional performance of Moroccan public universities: an organizational capabilities approach

Abstract

This article examines the conditions under which management control can support the steering of multidimensional performance in Moroccan public universities. Existing literature has extensively discussed dashboards, accountability and New Public Management tools, but it still insufficiently explains the organizational capabilities through which such tools become useful for collective decision-making. This gap is particularly relevant in the Moroccan higher education context, which is characterized by massification, differentiation between open-access and selective institutions, the PACTE ESRI 2030 reform, and increasing requirements for contractualization, responsible autonomy and performance. The article relies on a narrative and analytical literature review based on a targeted corpus of forty-four academic and institutional references related to management control, public governance, university performance, indicator systems and organizational capabilities. The analysis follows three stages: identifying the main dimensions of university performance, linking them to management control devices, and building a conceptual model based on four steering capabilities. The central contribution is to distinguish the mere possession of performance tools from the actual ability to transform them into organizational learning. The proposed model combines strategic translation, informational reliability, actor appropriation and organizational learning. It shows that performance does not mechanically result from indicators, but from their integration into routines of dialogue, responsibility and continuous improvement. The paper therefore contributes to public management control theory by clarifying the mechanisms linking information, dialogue, decision and learning. It also offers managerial implications for Moroccan public universities seeking to build integrated steering systems compatible with academic autonomy, public service missions and institutional accountability. The framework is intended to be transferable to other complex public organizations facing similar tensions between measurement, participation and strategic action.

JEL Classification: H83; I23; M10; M40.

Paper type: Theoretical research.