Cooperation and Competition Among Employees: Experimental Evidence on the Role of Management Control Systems

Posted: 12 Feb 2016

See all articles by Joan L. Luft

Joan L. Luft

Michigan State University - Department of Accounting & Information Systems

Date Written: February 7, 2016

Abstract

This article reviews experimental studies that investigate the influence of management control systems on competitive and cooperative interactions among employees. It begins by describing the role of experiments in improving theory specification, by improving construct definitions, documenting the causal processes that link management controls and performance, and identifying contextual factors that influence these processes. The article then analyzes experimental research on the role of management control systems in the social comparisons and tournament incentives that generate competition in organizations, and in the teamwork and reciprocity processes that support cooperation. A number of open questions and directions for future research, both experimental and non-experimental, are identified.

Keywords: Management control system, competition, cooperation, experiment

JEL Classification: M4

Suggested Citation

Luft, Joan, Cooperation and Competition Among Employees: Experimental Evidence on the Role of Management Control Systems (February 7, 2016). Management Accounting Research, Forthcoming, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2731528

Joan Luft (Contact Author)

Michigan State University - Department of Accounting & Information Systems ( email )

270 North Business Complex
East Lansing, MI 48824-1034
United States
517-432-2917 (Phone)
517-432-1101 (Fax)

Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?

Paper statistics

Abstract Views
1,465
PlumX Metrics