Rethinking how budgets shape performance and motivation
This book examines how a supervisor’s style of evaluating subordinates interacts with the level of budget participation to influence performance and job satisfaction. It draws on theories from operant conditioning and balance theory to explain why budgeting emphasis can either help or hinder outcomes, depending on how involved employees are in the budget process.
Two researchers explore prior findings by Hopwood and Otley, testing how budget-focused evaluations interact with participation to affect performance. The work presents a framework for understanding the balance between budgeting targets and broader organizational goals, and it reports on empirical results from a managerial sample. The discussion highlights practical implications for leaders seeking to align incentives, information use, and subunit dynamics.
- Learn how budget emphasis in evaluative style and employee participation can jointly affect performance.
- See how theories of reinforcement and cognitive balance help predict outcomes in real organizations.
- Understand the role of participation as a moderator, potentially explaining mixed results in earlier studies.
- Explore how these ideas connect to job satisfaction and different aspects of managerial work.
Ideal for readers of management accounting and organizational behavior, this edition offers a framework for evaluating control systems and improving performance through thoughtful participation and leadership style.