WHEN AND WHY BIAS SUPPRESSION IS DIFFICULT TO SUSTAIN: THE ASYMMETRIC EFFECT OF INTERMITTENT ACCOUNTABILITY

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Matthew, Brittany C. Solomon; Hall, Matthew E. K.; Muir, Cindy P.
• 署名单位: University of Notre Dame; University of Notre Dame; University of Notre Dame
• 刊物名称: ACADEMY OF MANAGEMENT JOURNAL
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0001-4273
• DOI: 10.5465/amj.2020.0441
• 发表日期: 2022
• 页码: 1450-1476
• 关键词: ORGANIZATIONAL JUSTICE; COUNTERFACTUAL THINKING; POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES; cognitive-dissonance; CEO IDEOLOGY; regret; DECISION; MODEL; personality; experience

摘要

The justice literature has suggested that adhering to justice rules should be self -reinforcing. Yet, the literature on bias suppression (a facet of procedural justice) has indicated that the effects of debiasing initiatives are transient. We aim to explain why sustained bias suppression is intrinsically challenging under the condition of intermit-tent accountability. We theorize that bias suppression with high accountability induces counterfactual thinking and regret and, ultimately, with subsequent low accountability, decision reversal. However, this process does not occur when accountability is initially low and subsequently high. Thus, intermittent accountability has an asymmetric effect on bias suppression over time-bias suppression is reversed (and biased decisions sus-tained). We initially provide proof of concept using Standard & Poor's 500 Firms' CEOs. We then conduct a field study of prominent decision-makers: U.S. Supreme Court judges (Study 1). We find that bias suppression is negatively associated with consistency when accountability is initially high but later reduced, as seemingly mediated through coun-terfactual thinking. Next, we test our full model in two experiments using recall and a self-focused vignette (Studies 2 and 3). Finally, we explore why bias yields consistency even when accountability increases. Our work highlights the power of cognitive and emotional processing relative to external control.