Research

• Authors: Celliane Ferraz Pazetto, Silvana Mannes Meurer, and Ilse Maria Beuren 

• Abstract: This paper examines how four uses of management accounting information and the role of knowledge conversion through socialization foster process innovation in innovative firms. A survey of 133 managers from Brazilian companies benefiting from tax subsidies for technological innovation employed Structural Equation Modelling for data analysis. The findings reveal that using management information for scorekeeping— a traditional accounting practice— and for directing organizational attention significantly enhances process innovation across two dimensions, highlighting varied impacts of accounting information use. Moreover, managers' ability to convert tacit knowledge through socialization significantly precedes process innovation. A notable finding is the full mediating effect of knowledge conversion via socialization between the use of management information for organizational learning and process innovation. This emphasizes that socialization enables higher organizational outcomes, positioning managers as key facilitators of the relationship between managerial information use and innovation. The results suggest a need to reassess organizational strategies, as effective management information supports decision-making. This study contributes to understanding how individual managerial characteristics and skills in knowledge conversion impact organizational outputs, demonstrating that knowledge socialization expands and disseminates tacit knowledge, thereby stimulating process innovation. Additionally, it offers a taxonomy of information uses that managers should prioritize to enhance process innovation. 

• Authors: Silvana Mannes Meurer, Celliane Ferraz Pazetto, and Ilse Maria Beuren 

• Abstract: This study investigates the influence of innovative capacity on product innovation, mediated by the design of Management Control Systems (MCS) in incubated companies. The research surveyed 100 managers from Brazilian organizations, including pre-incubated, incubated, and graduated firms, using descriptive statistics and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) for hypothesis testing. The results indicate that innovative capacity positively affects MCS design, with radical innovative capacity having a stronger impact than incremental capacity. Conversely, MCS design negatively influences product innovation. While incremental innovative capacity positively affects product innovation, radical capacity does not show a significant relationship. The mediation analysis revealed that MCS design does not fully mediate the relationship between innovative capacity and product innovation; however, it inversely affects this relationship. Specifically, the influence of radical innovative capacity on product innovation is diminished when MCS design mediates, acting as an inhibiting factor for innovation in the studied incubated companies. This suggests that a rigid and mechanistic control approach may limit innovation and hinder the development of new products. 

• Authors: Celliane Ferraz Pazetto, Ilse Maria Beuren, and Jacobo Gomes-Conde

• Abstract: This study examines how reward systems influence decision-making based on expectations of monetary gains, contingent on (i) individual performance or (ii) group/average performance. It was hypothesized that group reward systems, where rewards are equitably divided, would lead individuals to align their actions with group interests, enhancing team cohesion and commitment. However, results from a 2x2 between-subjects experiment involving 138 business students in three-person groups revealed that individual incentives resulted in greater goal commitment, suggesting that participants prioritized personal economic benefits, albeit with marginal significance this is contrary to the hypothesis. Those rewarded based on group performance exhibited dysfunctional behaviors, such as free riding, where they reduced efforts toward group goals, believing their contributions were not directly tied to their rewards. This behavior contradicted the principles of social cohesion. The anticipated moderating effect of goal difficulty on commitment was not confirmed, contrasting with existing literature that associates challenging goals with increased commitment. Additionally, perceptions of difficulty negatively impacted commitment, particularly under group incentives, indicating a link to free riding behaviors. The expected mediating effect of the need to belong to the team was also not supported; however, a direct relationship suggested that this need prioritizes group interests and influences commitment to common goals, potentially enhancing team cohesion and mitigating free riding. Overall, the findings indicate that increased commitment driven by reward systems does not necessarily enhance performance, as it may foster divergent interests among team members, highlighting the complexities of reward systems in team dynamics. 

• Abstract: This study analyses the impact of two reward system designs on team performance, examining the moderating influences of goal difficulty and fairness perceptions. The results confirm that task performance is superior when individuals are motivated by group incentives rather than individual ones. Specifically, group incentives are based on the average performance of the team, rather than individual contributions alone, equally dividing the variable bonus among team members. The study was conducted with 138 university students that had to solve a task into three member groups, to propose strategic objectives to increase a company's client base by either 3% or 5% (representing low and high difficulty levels). A 2x2 between-subjects experiment simulated two reward systems and two levels of goal difficulty to assess their effects on task performance. Participants provided open-ended responses, which were evaluated by three anonymous experts acting as managers. Each objective's performance served as the basis for calculating the variable bonus given to respondents. Task performance was measured across subjective dimensions, including the quality and creativity of the goals, their potential impact on sales, and the feasibility of implementing the proposed strategies. The findings indicate that individuals motivated by equitable group rewards are more inclined to pursue shared goals, resulting in greater overall performance contributes to managerial literature and has a relevant practical implication for incentivizing employees. This effect may stem from principles of the social cohesion and the social exchange theory, where collective effort yields better results than individual efforts alone. While the study did not find the anticipated moderating effect of goal difficulty on the relationship between reward systems and team performance, supplementary analysis revealed a positive moderation effect of goal difficulty on the performance of the subsample of highly committed participants. Moreover, individuals perceived equally divided group incentives as fairer when in a group bonus condition; however, this perception of fairness did not significantly influence individual or group performance. It is concluded that group incentives align members toward common objectives, which can explain the improved performance of those teams. 

In this research, I plan to conduct a 2x2 experiment with professionals recruited from Prolific. The study aims to illuminate the ongoing and contentious debate regarding the complementary or substitutive roles of multiple management control systems operating simultaneously, as well as contribute to the body of knowledge on subjective performance evaluation, which currently presents mixed results. To analyse internal transparency, I will use the taxonomy proposed by Adler and Borys (1996). The framework for performance management system (PMS) variables will be based on Maas et al. (2012) and Maas and Verdoorn (2017), while the measurement of the independent variable, centrality bias, will draw from Trapp and Trapp (2019). Finally, the analysis of collaborative relationships predicted by control systems will follow the theoretical principles outlined by Adler and Chen (2011).

This research explores the concept of interactional justice in reward systems, focusing on how team members perceive fairness in the distribution of rewards with a survey. Interactional justice occurs when employees agree with the allocation methods and view the evaluation metrics as impartial, leading them to consider the reward system fair (Abdin et al., 2019). The study highlights that the perceived justice of reward systems, particularly in group settings, is greater than in individual settings (Greenberg, 1996). Although free riding behaviors can occur, it is postulated that the greater perception of fairness associated with equitable reward distribution can mitigate these effects. Participants reported that group incentives foster a sense of justice and team cohesion, which may offset reduced commitment. Thus, the acceptance of reward distribution methods is crucial for achieving collective goals. The paper underscores that in cooperative contexts, group incentives could lead to superior outcomes, promoting team effort and performance compared to individual incentives (Libby & Thorne, 2009; Chen et al., 2012; Burke et al., 2023).