Relative Performance Information and Rule-Breaking: The Moderating Effect of Group Identity

IF 0.7 Q4 BUSINESS, FINANCE

Behavioral Research in Accounting Pub Date : 2024-01-01 DOI:10.2308/bria-2022-049

Corinna Ewelt-Knauer, Thorsten Knauer, Sandra Winkelmann

{"title":"Relative Performance Information and Rule-Breaking: The Moderating Effect of Group Identity","authors":"Corinna Ewelt-Knauer, Thorsten Knauer, Sandra Winkelmann","doi":"10.2308/bria-2022-049","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"\n Firms frequently provide relative performance information (RPI) in different environmental contexts. In this experimental study, we investigate how RPI (absent versus present) affects rule-breaking under different levels of group identity (lower versus higher). We refer to performance-improving rule-breaking that increases not only one’s own performance but also overall firm performance. We predict and find that RPI triggers a stronger increase in rule-breaking in cases of higher group identity than in cases of lower group identity. We argue that in the case of lower group identity, individuals mainly follow their own moral standards independently of RPI provision. In contrast, we reason that individuals with higher group identity generally want to impress their fellow group members when RPI is absent by following the rules, but when RPI is present by achieving a high rank through rule-breaking. Our results inform managers about the importance of considering RPI in conjunction with group identity.\n Data Availability: Data are available from Sandra Winkelmann.\n JEL Classifications: M40; M41.","PeriodicalId":46356,"journal":{"name":"Behavioral Research in Accounting","volume":"172 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7000,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Behavioral Research in Accounting","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.2308/bria-2022-049","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q4","JCRName":"BUSINESS, FINANCE","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Firms frequently provide relative performance information (RPI) in different environmental contexts. In this experimental study, we investigate how RPI (absent versus present) affects rule-breaking under different levels of group identity (lower versus higher). We refer to performance-improving rule-breaking that increases not only one’s own performance but also overall firm performance. We predict and find that RPI triggers a stronger increase in rule-breaking in cases of higher group identity than in cases of lower group identity. We argue that in the case of lower group identity, individuals mainly follow their own moral standards independently of RPI provision. In contrast, we reason that individuals with higher group identity generally want to impress their fellow group members when RPI is absent by following the rules, but when RPI is present by achieving a high rank through rule-breaking. Our results inform managers about the importance of considering RPI in conjunction with group identity. Data Availability: Data are available from Sandra Winkelmann. JEL Classifications: M40; M41.

查看原文本刊更多论文

相对绩效信息与违反规则：群体认同的调节作用

企业经常在不同的环境背景下提供相对绩效信息（RPI）。在这项实验研究中，我们调查了在不同的群体认同水平（较低与较高）下，RPI（不存在与存在）如何影响破坏规则的行为。我们所指的破坏规则行为不仅能提高个人绩效，还能提高公司的整体绩效。我们预测并发现，与群体认同度较低的情况相比，群体认同度较高的情况下 RPI 引发的破坏规则行为的增加更为强烈。我们认为，在群体认同度较低的情况下，个人主要遵循自己的道德标准，而不受 RPI 规定的影响。与此相反，我们的推论是，当缺乏 RPI 时，具有较高群体认同感的个体通常希望通过遵守规则来给其他群体成员留下深刻印象，而当 RPI 存在时，他们则希望通过破坏规则来获得较高的地位。我们的研究结果让管理者认识到将 RPI 与群体认同结合起来考虑的重要性。数据提供：数据可向 Sandra Winkelmann 索取。JEL 分类：M40; M41.

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Behavioral Research in Accounting BUSINESS, FINANCE-

CiteScore

3.70

自引率

4.80%

发文量