Group identity, performance transparency, and employee performance
Shang,Ruidi Abernethy,Margareth Hung,Chung-Yu
Shang,Ruidi
Abernethy,Margareth
Hung,Chung-Yu
Abstract
Economics, social psychology, and management studies suggest that group identity plays an important role in directing employee behaviors. On the one hand, strong group identity could motivate high effort by resolving conflicts of interests in the workplace. On the other hand, it could encourage conformity towards group norms. We examine whether the effect of group identity is conditional on managers' performance reporting choices. Drawing on survey and archival data from a field site, we find that when performance transparency is low, the interest alignment effect is more salient and group identity positively relates to employee performance. However, when performance transparency is high, the conformity effect is more salient and higher group identity is associated with more homogeneous, but not necessarily higher, employee performance. Our findings contribute to the management control literature by documenting that managers' performance reporting choices determine whether group identity has positive effects on employee performance.
Description
Date
2020-09
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Volume Title
Publisher
Research Projects
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Journal Issue
Keywords
management accounting, management control, employee performance, group identity, performance transparency
Citation
Shang, R, Abernethy, M & Hung, C-Y 2020, 'Group identity, performance transparency, and employee performance', Accounting Review, vol. 95, no. 5, pp. 373-397. https://doi.org/10.2308/accr-52652
License
info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess