The Effects of Relative Performance Information and Work-Training Tradeoff on Employees' Skill Development: An Experimental Investigation

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Arnold, Markus C.; Shi, Bei; Tafkov, Ivo D.; Voermans, Elien
• 署名单位: University of Bern; University of Amsterdam; University System of Georgia; Georgia State University; Erasmus University Rotterdam - Excl Erasmus MC; Erasmus University Rotterdam
• 刊物名称: ACCOUNTING REVIEW
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0001-4826
• DOI: 10.2308/TAR-2023-0670
• 发表日期: 2023
• 页码: 35-58
• 关键词: effort allocation; ORGANIZATIONS; COMPENSATION; CONSEQUENCES; tournaments; management; context; time

摘要

Employees' skill development is key to organizations' competitiveness in a global, knowledge-based economy. Prior research in accounting, however, has mainly focused on motivating the provision of transitory effort. This study investigates how relative performance information (RPI) as a management control influences employees' willingness to engage in skill development and whether the effect of RPI depends on whether employees face a tradeoff between training and current work performance. We predict and find that RPI increases the likelihood of taking training when a work-training tradeoff is absent but decreases it when a work-training tradeoff is present. We also predict and find RPI increases employee performance when a work-training tradeoff is absent and the effect is less positive (and directionally negative) when a work-training tradeoff is present. Our paper is an important first step in investigating how management controls interfere with employees' investment in skill development and its tradeoff with transitory effort provision.