Management Accounting Section Midyear Meeting

Is Tone at the Top Heard by Customers? The Effects of a Cultural Control on Non-financial Outcomes

• In Event: Product Markets and Customers (Mixed Methods)

Abstract

While prior studies have highlighted the importance of tone at the top for ethical decision making of employees, not much is known on its implications for a broader set of organizational processes and outcomes. In this study, we investigate the role of tone at the top in driving nonfinancial performance outcomes. Using computer-aided text analysis on mission statements of 442 nursing homes, we find that customer satisfaction is related to the espoused tone at the top. Specifically, our findings show that a financial tone is negatively associated with customer satisfaction, whereas no association between a quality tone and customer satisfaction is found. A further analysis of one mechanism underlying this relationship reveals that workload partially mediates the link between financial tone and customer satisfaction. Together, our findings suggest that senior management should carefully consider the values that they convey as these can be crucial for affecting organizational outcomes.

Authors

• Mathilde Verschaeve, KU Leuven

• Alexandra Van den Abbeele, KU Leuven

• Eddy Cardinaels, Tilburg University

• Dieter Smeulders, KU Leuven