Effects of management control systems and cognitive orientation on misreporting: an experiment

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the simultaneous effect of management control system (MCS) designs (belief vs boundary) and cognitive orientations (individualism vs collectivism) on performance misreporting by combining accounting and psychology literature. Design/methodology/approach This paper is based on a laboratory experiment with 67 postgraduate students. Findings Results show that an individualist cognitive orientation increased performance misreporting. The results also showed that a boundary design of MCS intensified the relationship between individualist orientation and performance misreporting. Research limitations/implications This paper shed some light about the role of non-pecuniary control system for reducing managerial performance misreporting. The findings support that the tendency of individuals to avoid misreporting depends not only on the MCS design but also on the match between it and individual’s cognitive orientations. Practical implications Managers in organizations should consider the predominant cognitive orientation of individuals when they design MCS. They should consider that control systems, which impose coercive constraints to individuals, may encourage feelings of psychological reactance and then increase performance misreporting. Originality/value This study is among the first to combine psychology and accounting literature to analyze how the design of MCS influences individuals’ motivation to misreport their performance. It provided evidence about the effect of non-monetary control systems on individual’s behavior in organizations.