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There is now a CONTENT FREEZE for Mercury while we switch to a new platform. It began on Friday, March 10 at 6pm and will end on Wednesday, March 15 at noon. No new content can be created during this time, but all material in the system as of the beginning of the freeze will be migrated to the new platform, including users and groups. Functionally the new site is identical to the old one. webteam@gatech.edu
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Area: Accounting
Committee Members: Dr. Jason (Xi) Kuang (Chair), Dr. Arnold Schneider, Dr. Jane Thayer, Dr. Kathy Wang, & Dr. Donald Young (External)
Title: Identified Motivation and the Asymmetric Effects of Informal Control Systems on Subordinate Behavior
Abstract: Due to the limits of formal management control systems (MCS) for tasks with unobservable/non-contractible inputs, firms often preferentially select subordinates who exhibit identified motivation (strong perceptions of importance) towards the firm’s mission. While prior literature examines the “crowding out” of identified motivation by formal MCS, less is known about how informal MCS asymmetrically affect subordinates both with and without identified motivation. Given the difficulty in preferentially selecting subordinates with identified motivation relative to those without, I seek evidence of an informal control regime that can best utilize subordinates of all motivation levels. Using the frameworks of Self-Determination Theory and Stewardship Theory, I experimentally test subordinates’ goal congruence and subsequent cooperation with the superior under conventional directives vs “nonformal communications” (unofficial management guidance). Results confirm that informal controls do not crowd out identified motivation yet do impair alignment of amotivated subordinates’ actions to firm objectives.
