Cooperation and competition among employees: Experimental evidence on the role of management control systems

Abstract

This article reviews experimental studies that investigate the influence of management control systems on competitive and cooperative interactions among employees. It begins by describing the role of experiments in improving theory specification, by improving construct definitions, documenting the causal processes that link management controls and performance, and identifying contextual factors that influence these processes. The article then analyzes experimental research on the role of management control systems in the social comparisons and tournament incentives that generate competition in organizations, and in the teamwork and reciprocity processes that support cooperation. A number of open questions and directions for future research, both experimental and non-experimental, are identified.