ABSTRACT

We examine the impact of employees’ perceptions of management control systems (MCS) as a threat on two forms of misconduct: deliberate ignorance and workplace deviance. Drawing on the theory of cognitive dissonance, we predict that a perceived threat is associated with a decrease in workplace deviance but may also trigger unintended consequences, such as deliberate ignorance. Hypotheses are tested using survey data from three large hospitals. Taken together, our results suggest that employees’ perceptions of MCS as a threat have (1) a negative curvilinear effect on workplace deviance and (2) a positive linear association with deliberate ignorance. Additionally, we find that the need for professional autonomy shapes the effect of employees’ perception of MCS as a threat on both forms of misconduct. Overall, by providing new empirical evidence on how employees perceive MCS and their (un)intended consequences, we add to the growing body of research on the effects of control systems on employees’ behaviour.

摘要

我们研究了员工将管理控制系统 (MCS) 视为威胁对两种不当行为形式的影响：故意无知和工作场所越轨行为。根据认知失调理论，我们预测感知到的威胁与工作场所偏差的减少有关，但也可能引发意想不到的后果，例如故意无知。使用来自三个大型医院的调查数据对假设进行了检验。综上所述，我们的结果表明，员工将 MCS 视为一种威胁的看法具有 (1) 对工作场所偏差的负面曲线效应，以及 (2) 与故意无知的正线性关联。此外，我们发现，对专业自主权的需求塑造了员工将 MCS 视为对两种形式的不当行为构成威胁的看法。全面的，