Seminar (Dept. of Finance)

Theme：The behavioral effects of social distance and residual claim distribution on budget reporting in hierarchical organizations

Speaker：Xi (Jason) Kuang (Professor of Accounting, Scheller College of Business, Georgia Institute of Technology)

Time：2022-06-24 10:00

Address：Online Meeting

Language：English

ABSTRACT:

We experimentally investigate how subordinates’ budget reporting in hierarchical organizations is influenced by social distance between subordinates and their direct manager. While prior research promotes reducing this social distance to improve cooperation and efficiency, we contend that reduced social distance has a positive or negative effect on budget reporting, conditioned on the manager’s stake in the residual claim. We predict and find through two studies that, when the manager has a relatively large stake in the residual claim, the reduction of social distance increases subordinates’ concern about the manager’s economic well-being, leading to more honest reports. However, when the manager has a small stake in the residual claim, the reduction of social distance decreases subordinates’ concern about the manager’s impression of their reporting behavior, leading to less honest reports. The implications of our findings for management accounting theory and practice are discussed.  

SHORT BIOGRAPHY:

Dr. Xi (Jason) Kuang’s teaching interests are financial accounting and managerial accounting.  His research investigates the effects of economic and psychological factors on decision making in accounting and related business settings. Dr. Kuang has published his research in premier journals in accounting, law, ethics, and economics. Dr. Kuang is serving or has served on the editorial boards of The Accounting Review, Contemporary Accounting Research, Accounting, Organizations and Society, and Behavioral Research in Accounting.