This study extends recent research on the interaction of formal and informal controls that may create divergence between economic self-interest and social norms consistent with organizational belongingness. We use a sequence of two experiments to explore the interactive effects of performance incentives and a contemporary value statement promoting organizational belongingness. Experiment 1 focuses on the moderating effect of a general value statement, showing that a value statement increases (decreases) productivity associated with fixed pay (piece-rate) incentives. Experiment 2 further extends the work on value statements by reinforcing the value statement to increase the statement's saliency with employees. The results of the second experiment confirm that enhancing the saliency of the value statement through active delivery increases its moderating effect on productivity. On an overall basis, the results support our theorized disordinal interaction between formal and informal controls. Most notably, a value statement enhances productivity when incentivizing employees using fixed pay.

ChatGPT, a language-learning model chatbot, has garnered considerable attention for its ability to respond to users’ questions. Using data from 14 countries and 186 institutions, we compare ChatGPT and student performance for 28,085 questions from accounting assessments and textbook test banks. As of January 2023, ChatGPT provides correct answers for 56.5 percent of questions and partially correct answers for an additional 9.4 percent of questions. When considering point values for questions, students significantly outperform ChatGPT with a 76.7 percent average on assessments compared to 47.5 percent for ChatGPT if no partial credit is awarded and 56.5 percent if partial credit is awarded. Still, ChatGPT performs better than the student average for 15.8 percent of assessments when we include partial credit. We provide evidence of how ChatGPT performs on different question types, accounting topics, class levels, open/closed assessments, and test bank questions. We also discuss implications for accounting education and research.

The purpose of this study is to examine how the presence of a value statement (an informal control) alters the effect of differing financial incentives (a formal control) in an environment consisting of both rewarded and unrewarded tasks. Results show that under fixed pay, the presence of a value statement motivates performance on important but unrewarded discretionary tasks. Conversely, under piece‐rate compensation, value statements negatively influence performance on unrewarded discretionary tasks. In contemporary work environments, where such discretionary tasks are common and important to organisational effectiveness, these results suggest that informal controls can have an important role in performance outcomes.

Managers engaging under pressure Diligently Scrutinized via an eye of presumptive doubt And a lens of neutrality Perceiving first their judgment […] as (un)trustworthy Presuming next their accounting […] As (dis)honest All the while Walking on our profession's grey line When audits require (un)qualified judgments When stakeholders request audit statements Diligently engage in forensic-type audits Since reports are legal testaments Audit with presumptive mindsets