control practices in other countries such as those in the Pacific Rim and Europe, where U.S. trade can be expected to expand, and how these are influenced by cultural variations. Additionally, it would be useful to examine the influence, if any, of the other two dimensions empirically established by Hofstede [1980]-Power Distance and Masculinity-Femininity-on these and other budget control practices.
Some of the limitations of this study, such as the inclusion of only large companies, and some measurement problems encountered, also can be over come in future research. The contribution made by this study is in providing a foundation and framework for examining the role of culture in budget control practices. Development of good measures for all the variables-especially for controllability of budgets and communication and coordination-would definitely help. Future studies could include the external and internal environ ments facing the companies and investigate their influence on: (1) budget control practices, and (2) how these environments interact with culture in determining budget control practices. MNCs can greatly benefit by continued investigation in this important area.