Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to trace the evolution of paternalism as a long-term component of a management control system (MCS) in a multi-national business enterprise. Design/methodology/approach - The authors used a historical methodology involving the collection and evaluation of both primary and secondary data. Annual reports of Michelin (2009-2021) were also analysed to trace the evolution of the MCS towards corporate social responsibility (CSR). Findings - This research traces the evolution of Michelin's Paternalistic MCS from "Traditional Paternalism " to "Welfare Paternalism ", "Managerial Paternalism " and "Libertarian Paternalism " thereby leading the way to CSR. The findings indicate that the evolution of the MCS revealed "Managerial Paternalism " as a specific type of paternalism and an important component of the "Personnel and Cultural Controls " (Merchant and Van der Stede, 2018, p. 95) at Michelin. Research limitations/implications - Many multi-national companies began as family-owned and controlled firms (e.g. Ford, Toyota, Fiat, Renault, Tata) and they often employed paternalistic MCSs during their early development (Newby, 1977; Perrot, 1979; Colli, 2003). Such MCSs have been seen as being anachronistic and are often abandoned as the family-owned enterprise grows into a multi-national company (Casson and Cox, 1993; McKinlay et al., 2010). The research challenges this assertion and demonstrates how aspects of a paternalistic MCS can survive in a multi-national business enterprise. Practical implications - With respect to practical implications, this research shows that paternalism can still be a component of an MCS in a multi-national enterprise. Originality/value - Using a historical approach, this research addresses a gap in the prior literature regarding the variations and persistence of paternalism in companies. In the case of Michelin, the authors investigate the evolution of its paternalistic MCS from a traditional form to an emphasis on CSR.
