IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jbuset/v172y2021i4d10.1007_s10551-020-04490-9.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Designing Ethical Management Control: Overcoming the Harmful Effect of Management Control Systems on Job-Related Stress

Author

Listed:
  • Stefan Linder

    (ESSEC Business School)

  • Bernard Leca

    (ESSEC Business School)

  • Adrián Zicari

    (ESSEC Business School)

  • Veronica Casarin

    (ESSEC Business School)

Abstract

Ethical aspects of management control systems (MCS) are attracting increasing attention among scholars and practitioners. Much of the work centers on their aims. We complement this scholarship by applying the ethical principle of “no harm,” i.e., non-maleficence, to examine how those aims are achieved. We illustrate this approach by exploring the effects of four MCS designs on job-related stress drawing on the differentiation of stress into two dimensions: a challenge (i.e., unproblematic and even desirable) and a threat dimension (i.e., dangerous; causing psychological strain). Results from a lagged field-survey with 471 managers and employees from the UK and the U.S. support key predictions and offer first insights into designing MCS based on a “no harm” ethics. Our study highlights the benefits of interdisciplinary research in business ethics and hopefully encourages more work on MCS from a perspective based on the non-maleficence principle.

Suggested Citation

  • Stefan Linder & Bernard Leca & Adrián Zicari & Veronica Casarin, 2021. "Designing Ethical Management Control: Overcoming the Harmful Effect of Management Control Systems on Job-Related Stress," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 172(4), pages 747-764, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:172:y:2021:i:4:d:10.1007_s10551-020-04490-9
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-020-04490-9
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10551-020-04490-9
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10551-020-04490-9?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Clive Boddy, 2014. "Corporate Psychopaths, Conflict, Employee Affective Well-Being and Counterproductive Work Behaviour," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 121(1), pages 107-121, April.
    2. C. Bram Cadsby & Fei Song & Francis Tapon, 2016. "The Impact of Risk-Aversion and Stress on the Incentive Effect of Performance-Pay," Research in Experimental Economics, in: Experiments in Organizational Economics, volume 19, pages 189-227, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    3. Margaret A. Abernethy & Henri C. Dekker & Axel K‐D. Schulz, 2015. "Are Employee Selection and Incentive Contracts Complements or Substitutes?," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(4), pages 633-668, September.
    4. Thomas Dohmen & Armin Falk & David Huffman & Uwe Sunde & Jürgen Schupp & Gert G. Wagner, 2011. "Individual Risk Attitudes: Measurement, Determinants, And Behavioral Consequences," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 9(3), pages 522-550, June.
    5. Widener, Sally K., 2007. "An empirical analysis of the levers of control framework," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 32(7-8), pages 757-788.
    6. Margit Osterloh & Bruno S. Frey, 2000. "Motivation, Knowledge Transfer, and Organizational Forms," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 11(5), pages 538-550, October.
    7. Holmstrom, Bengt & Milgrom, Paul, 1991. "Multitask Principal-Agent Analyses: Incentive Contracts, Asset Ownership, and Job Design," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 7(0), pages 24-52, Special I.
    8. Bourguignon, Annick & Chiapello, Eve, 2003. "The Role of Criticism in the Dynamics of Performance Evaluation Systems," ESSEC Working Papers DR 03017, ESSEC Research Center, ESSEC Business School.
    9. Pascal Langevin & Carla Mendoza, 2013. "How can management control system fairness reduce managers' unethical behaviours?," Post-Print hal-02313009, HAL.
    10. Hopwood, Ag, 1972. "Empirical Study Of Role Of Accounting Data In Performance Evaluation," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 10, pages 156-182.
    11. Marreiros, Helia & Tonin, Mirco & Vlassopoulos, Michael & Schraefel, M.C., 2017. "“Now that you mention it”: A survey experiment on information, inattention and online privacy," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 1-17.
    12. Abernethy, Margaret A. & Brownell, Peter, 1999. "The role of budgets in organizations facing strategic change: an exploratory study," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 24(3), pages 189-204, April.
    13. Nihel Chabrak & Russell Craig & Nabyla Daidj, 2016. "Financialization and the Employee Suicide Crisis at France Telecom," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 139(3), pages 501-515, December.
    14. Hall, Matthew, 2008. "The effect of comprehensive performance measurement systems on role clarity, psychological empowerment and managerial performance," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 33(2-3), pages 141-163.
    15. Shields, Michael D. & Deng, F. Johnny & Kato, Yutaka, 2000. "The design and effects of control systems: tests of direct- and indirect-effects models," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 25(2), pages 185-202, February.
    16. Epstein, Marc & Manzoni, Jean-François, 1998. "Implementing corporate strategy:: From Tableaux de Bord to balanced scorecards," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 16(2), pages 190-203, April.
    17. Jaworski, Bernard J. & Young, S. Mark, 1992. "Dysfunctional behavior and management control: An empirical study of marketing managers," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 17-35, January.
    18. M. Joseph Sirgy & Dong-Jin Lee, 2008. "Well-being Marketing: An Ethical Business Philosophy for Consumer Goods Firms," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 77(4), pages 377-403, February.
    19. Yotam Lurie & Robert Albin, 2007. "Moral Dilemmas in Business Ethics: From Decision Procedures to Edifying Perspectives," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 71(2), pages 195-207, March.
    20. Drach-Zahavy, Anat & Erez, Miriam, 2002. "Challenge versus threat effects on the goal-performance relationship," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 88(2), pages 667-682, July.
    21. Henri, Jean-Francois, 2006. "Management control systems and strategy: A resource-based perspective," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 31(6), pages 529-558, August.
    22. Chong, Vincent K., 1996. "Management accounting systems, task uncertainty and managerial performance: A research note," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 21(5), pages 415-421, July.
    23. Langevin, Pascal & Mendoza, Carla, 2013. "How can management control system fairness reduce managers’ unethical behaviours?," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 31(3), pages 209-222.
    24. Nihel Chabrak & Russell Craig & Nabyla Daidj, 2016. "Financialization and the employee suicide crisis at France Telecom," Post-Print hal-01404463, HAL.
    25. Hopwood, Ag, 1972. "Empirical Study Of Role Of Accounting Data In Performance Evaluation - Reply," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 10, pages 189-193.
    26. Palan, Stefan & Schitter, Christian, 2018. "Prolific.ac—A subject pool for online experiments," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 17(C), pages 22-27.
    27. Bisbe, Josep & Otley, David, 2004. "The effects of the interactive use of management control systems on product innovation," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 29(8), pages 709-737, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. James T. Mackey & F. Johnny Deng, 2016. "Examining the Role of Management Control Systems in the Creation of an Innovative Culture," International Journal of Innovation and Technology Management (IJITM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 13(03), pages 1-27, June.
    2. Habib Mahama & Zhichao (Alex) Wang, 2023. "Impact of the interactive and diagnostic uses of performance measurement systems on procedural fairness perception, cooperation and performance in supply alliances," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 63(3), pages 3253-3296, September.
    3. Chenhall, Robert H. & Moers, Frank, 2015. "The role of innovation in the evolution of management accounting and its integration into management control," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 1-13.
    4. Hall, Matthew, 2010. "Accounting information and managerial work," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 35(3), pages 301-315, April.
    5. Bisbe, Josep & Kruis, Anne-Marie & Madini, Paola, 2019. "Coercive, enabling, diagnostic, and interactive control: Untangling the threads of their connections," Journal of Accounting Literature, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 124-144.
    6. David Marginson & Laurie McAulay & Melvin Roush & Tony Van Zijl, 2010. "Performance measures and short‐termism: An exploratory study," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(4), pages 353-370.
    7. Grafton, Jennifer & Lillis, Anne M. & Widener, Sally K., 2010. "The role of performance measurement and evaluation in building organizational capabilities and performance," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 35(7), pages 689-706, October.
    8. Gerdin, Jonas & Johansson, Tobias & Wennblom, Gabriella, 2019. "The contingent nature of complementarity between results and value-based controls for managing company-level profitability: A situational strength perspective," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    9. Hall, Matthew, 2010. "Accounting information and managerial work," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 28539, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    10. Abernethy, Margaret A. & Anderson, Shannon W. & Nair, Sujay & Jiang, Yile (Anson), 2021. "Manager ‘growth mindset’ and resource management practices," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    11. Bellora-Bienengräber, Lucia & Radtke, Robin R. & Widener, Sally K., 2022. "Counterproductive work behaviors and work climate: The role of an ethically focused management control system and peers’ self-focused behavior," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    12. Xiangfei Zeng & Ning Zhang & Lianghua Chen & Wenpei Zhang, 2023. "The Impact of Interactive Control in Budget Management on Innovation Performance of Enterprises: From the Perspective of Manager Role Stress," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-21, January.
    13. Fasshauer, Ingrid, 2012. "Les interactions entre contrôle et stratégie : redéfinition du rôle des cadres intermédiaires et du levier interactif de contrôle," Economics Thesis from University Paris Dauphine, Paris Dauphine University, number 123456789/11150 edited by Berland, Nicolas.
    14. Luft, Joan & Shields, Michael D., 2003. "Mapping management accounting: graphics and guidelines for theory-consistent empirical research," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 28(2-3), pages 169-249.
    15. Sebastian Goebel & Barbara E. Weißenberger, 2017. "Effects of management control mechanisms: towards a more comprehensive analysis," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 87(2), pages 185-219, February.
    16. Bedford, David S. & Malmi, Teemu & Sandelin, Mikko, 2016. "Management control effectiveness and strategy: An empirical analysis of packages and systems," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 12-28.
    17. Pauline Beau, 2016. "L'influence de la justice organisationnelle sur le stress : le cas du contrôle des performances individuelles dans les grands cabinets d'audit," Post-Print hal-01902416, HAL.
    18. Franco Visani, 2017. "Applying business analytics for performance measurement and management. The case study of a software company," MANAGEMENT CONTROL, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2017(2), pages 89-123.
    19. Utz Schäffer & Matthias D. Mahlendorf & Jochen Rehring, 2014. "Does the Interactive Use of Headquarter Performance Measurement Systems in Foreign Subsidiaries Endanger the Potential to Profit from Local Relationships?," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 24(1), pages 21-38, March.
    20. Christophe Herriau & Lionel Touchais, 2012. "Changement et système de contrôle : une perspective dynamique," Post-Print hal-01737425, HAL.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:172:y:2021:i:4:d:10.1007_s10551-020-04490-9. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.