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Surviving in today’s highly competitive market is difficult and requires companies to look for a competitive edge. In this way, companies can stand out from their competitors and attract customers. Prior research clearly indicated that an important role is withheld for both management control and creativity in establishing and maintaining this competitive advantage. In this perspective, it is in any company’s interest to ensure that these elements are optimally organized. The literature, however, is inconclusive as to whether these elements impair or enhance one another. Given this inconsistency, companies should attempt to strike a balance between creativity and control given their own needs. The main aim of this study is to contribute to the understanding of the creativity-control conflict and to find support in favor of the impairment or the enhancement proposition. In their quest for an answer, the authors conducted case studies in different Belgian fashion companies. Their findings suggest that within this particular setting excessive control is likely to hinder creativity and could pose a threat to the company’s survival in the long run, whereas confined levels of control can aid a company in developing creative, yet sellable products.