Geoffrey B. Sprinkle

The effects of monetary incentives on effort and task performance: theories, evidence, and a framework for research

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to review theories and evidence regarding the effects of (performance-contingent) monetary incentives on individual effort and task performance. We provide a framework for understanding these effects in numerous contexts of interest to accounting researchers and focus particularly on how salient features of accounting settings may affect the incentives-effort and effort-performance relations. Our compilation and integration of theories and evidence across a wide variety of disciplines reveals significant implications for accounting research and practice. Based on the framework, theories, and prior evidence, we develop and discuss numerous directions for future research in accounting that could provide important insights into the efficacy of monetary reward systems.

Perspectives on experimental research in managerial accounting

Abstract In this paper, I discuss the importance of conducting experimental research in managerial accounting and provide a framework for understanding and assessing the contributions of research in this area. I then use this framework to organize, integrate, and evaluate the existing experimental managerial accounting research. Based on my review and synthesis of the literature, I suggest numerous avenues for future experimental research in managerial accounting.

Evolution of Communication with Partial Common Interest

This paper uses experiments to investigate the evolution of communication. We consider simple games of information transmission in which the interests of senders and receivers are imperfectly aligned. We show that under four canonical incentive conditions the no-communication hypothesis can be rejected with and without literal meanings. Communicative outcomes are less likely to evolve and, if they do, evolve more slowly without a commonly understood language. When we see communicative outcomes, they tend to satisfy a partial common interest condition. Equilibria are useful guideposts for analyzing outcomes but are not always obtained; e.g., with literal meanings we observe stable sucker behavior and adherence to focal meanings and, without literal meanings, combinations of actions that could not coexist under

Experimental Research in Managerial Accounting

Abstract We discuss the importance of conducting experimental research in managerial accounting and provide a framework for understanding and assessing the contributions of research in this area. We then use this framework to organize, integrate, and evaluate the existing experimental managerial accounting research. Based on our review and synthesis of the literature, we suggest avenues for future experimental research in managerial accounting.

Chapter 63 The Effect of Message Space Size on Learning and Outcomes in Sender–Receiver Games

Publisher Summary As documented in the dynamics and outcomes, agents learn to attach meaning to “a priori” meaningless messages. For the common interest game, Game 1, this chapter observe the efficient separating outcome, although the learning process is gradual. For the partial common interest game, Game 2, the outcomes and dynamics vary with the size of the message space. With two messages, we observe a partial pooling outcome with a minimal amount of non-equilibrium play. Again, the dynamic adjustment (learning) process is gradual. For three and four messages, the highest frequency of play is the fully separating equilibrium, although there is a significant amount of partial pooling play in both treatments and, consistent with theory, there is more partial pooling play in the four message treatment than in the three message treatment. Finally, while there is less non-equilibrium play in the four message treatment than in the three message treatment, the dynamic adjustment (learning) process in both treatments is gradual and incomplete.