Abstract
© 2018, © 2018 European Accounting Association.This study examines the relations among various types of management control, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, and performance in the public sector. We draw on motivation crowding theory and self-determination theory to argue that four different types of management control (i.e. personnel, cultural, action, and results control) are likely to have an influence on intrinsic motivation and/or extrinsic motivation. We test a structural equation model using survey data from 105 similar departments in the public sector. Our findings indicate that the use of personnel and cultural controls is positively associated with employees’ intrinsic motivation, and that the use of results controls is positively associated with employees’ extrinsic motivation. Moreover, both intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation are positively associated with performance. Taken together, these findings support the idea advocated by New Public Management proponents that results control can enhance employee motivation and performance in the public sector. However, the findings also highlight an essential nuance; in addition to results control, personnel and cultural controls are also important, as they enhance intrinsic motivation and performance. This implies that a sole focus on results control is too narrow and can lead to suboptimal levels of employee motivation and performance in the public sector.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 901-928 |
| Journal | European Accounting Review |
| Volume | 28 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2019 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Funding
Earlier versions of this paper were presented at seminars at the University of Groningen, Catolica Lisbon School of Business and Economics, Alliance Manchester Business School, IE Business School Madrid, Erasmus University Rotterdam, University of Sydney Business School, and Ghent University and at the 39th European Accounting Association conference in Maastricht. We thank the participants for their feedback. We also would like to thank Sally Widener and the two anonymous reviewers for their constructive feedback on earlier versions of this paper. This paper is based on a chapter from a doctoral dissertation completed at the University of Groningen (van der Kolk, 2016).
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| IE Business School Madrid | |
| University of Sydney Business School | |
| Rijksuniversiteit Groningen | |
| Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam | |
| Universiteit Gent | |
| Católica Lisbon School of Business and Economics, Universidade Católica Portuguesa |