How Much Attention do Evaluators Pay to CSR Information and Does This Impact the Performance Ratings in a Balanced Scorecard Setting?

• In Event: Management Accounting

Abstract

This study experimentally examined how time pressure and presentation format of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) information affected performance evaluation ratings and bonus allocation decisions. Eye-tracking technology was used to examine how much visual attention evaluators pay to CSR information in Balanced Scorecards (BSC) when CSR presentation formats and time pressure levels vary. The experiment included 135 participants who evaluated two regional managers based on their managerial performance. We found that evaluators assigned lower performance ratings and focused more on CSR performance when time pressure was high. In addition, appraisal ratings were generally lower and participants relied less on CSR performance when CSR information was presented in a 5th perspective compared to being integrated into the traditional four perspectives of the BSC. Finally, an increase in visual attention to CSR measures did not significantly impact performance ratings. Although evaluators devoted more time to CSR measures when they were separated into a 5th perspective, their performance ratings were not higher even if the manager performed extremely well in this category. Overall, our study contributes to the management accounting literature by examining how the ‘divide and conquer bias’ may be mitigated by a reduction in evaluators’ time pressure, by further analyzing the underlying processes in BSC-related decision tasks, and by examining how CSR measures could be integrated into the traditional BSC format.

Authors

• Lucia Bellora-Bienengraeber, University of Hamburg, Germany

• Lasse Mertins, Johns Hopkins University

• Alexander Bassen, University of Hamburg