Anmerkungen:
In: The Accounting Review, forthcoming https://doi.org/10.2308/TAR-2019-0189
Nach Informationen von SSRN wurde die ursprüngliche Fassung des Dokuments November 1, 2021 erstellt
Beschreibung:
Although firms are extensively using public recognition to recognize their high-performing employees, prior laboratory experiments in accounting and economics do not find beneficial effects of public recognition (versus private recognition) on employee behavior. I use a laboratory experiment to investigate this apparent disconnect. Specifically, I investigate how the strength of employee social bonds moderates the beneficial effects of using public recognition (versus private recognition) on employees’ pre- and post-recognition behavior. Consistent with prior studies, I find that when employees have weak social bonds, the use of public recognition does not result in more beneficial employee behavior than private recognition. However, when employees have strong social bonds, the use of public recognition, compared to private recognition, results in greater employee effort to achieve recognition and a more positive post-recognition response from those who receive recognition. Further, my results suggest that when employees have strong social bonds, managers using public recognition can gain these pre- and post-recognition benefits without incurring costs associated with negative responses from non-recognized employees. Overall, my study explains the extensive use of public recognition in practice and has implications for managers planning to implement employee recognition programs – suggesting that managers should consider the state of employee relationships when deciding how and where to recognize their employees