@article{e42da5967a5f40dc86a83e653ed7c6ae,
title = "Controls and the asymmetric stickiness of norms",
abstract = "SYNOPSIS: This study investigates how formal control systems and the behavior of peers influence behavior in accounting settings with imperfect controls. We manipulate formal controls and social norms in a laboratory experiment, allowing us to precisely investigate the interactive effect of these two factors on behavior. We provide evidence that when initial controls are strong and subsequently weakened, individuals behave in a more self-interested manner in subsequent settings than individuals who are in a setting where initial controls are weak and subsequently strengthened. We also provide evidence that individuals conform more to social norms that conflict with the behavior that changes in formal controls induce. Finally, we find that individuals preferentially attend and conform to the self-interested actions of peers (as opposed to the socially interested actions of their peers), causing self-interested norms to be {\textquoteleft}{\textquoteleft}stickier{\textquoteright}{\textquoteright} than socially interested norms for behavior.",
keywords = "Conformity, Controls, Ethics, Norms, Social norms",
author = "Emett, {Scott A.} and Guymon, {Ronald N.} and Tayler, {William B.} and Donald Young",
note = "Funding Information: We thank Karen L. Sedatole (editor), as well as two anonymous reviewers for this journal. We appreciate helpful comments and suggestions from anonymous reviewers from the Management Accounting Section Midyear Meeting and the American Accounting Association Annual Meeting, and from Jeremy Bentley, Alisa Brinks, Willie Choi, Karie Davis-Nozemack, Karim Jamal, Kathryn Kadous, Michael Maier, Erin Marshall, Greg Richins, Greg Rudin, Florin Sabac, Steve Smith, Doug Stevens, Bryan Stikeleather, and David Wood, as well as workshop participants at the American Accounting Association Annual Meeting, Brigham Young University{\textquoteright}s Accounting Research Symposium, Brigham Young University{\textquoteright}s Faculty Ethics Conference, Emory University{\textquoteright}s Experiment-Based-Research Brownbag, Global Management Accounting Research Symposium, Management Accounting Section Midyear Meeting, University of Notre Dame{\textquoteright}s Excellence in Ethics Research Conference, and the University of Alberta. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2019, American Accounting Association. All rights reserved.",
year = "2019",
month = dec,
doi = "10.2308/acch-52487",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "33",
pages = "119--143",
journal = "Accounting Horizons",
issn = "0888-7993",
publisher = "American Accounting Association",
number = "4",
}