Thesis
The influence of employees' participation in task-properties feedback on initiative within performance measurement systems
- Creator
- Rights statement
- Awarding institution
- University of Strathclyde
- Date of award
- 2026
- Thesis identifier
- T17659
- Person Identifier (Local)
- 201869362
- Qualification Level
- Qualification Name
- Department, School or Faculty
- Abstract
- This thesis explores the critical role of information flows provided by management control systems in fostering and sustaining effective behavioural patterns within organisations. In an era where maximising the potential of performance measurement data has become increasingly challenging, this research investigates the impact of collaboratively developed task-properties feedback on employee initiative. Challenging the conventional unidirectional flow of information from managers to employees, the thesis demonstrates how participatory feedback processes foster a reciprocal and collaborative exchange. This shift moves beyond the traditional top-down approach, highlighting the value of employee involvement in co-developing feedback to enhance its relevance and effectiveness. Building on management accounting literature, this study draws extensively from behavioural and organisational psychology to predict and analyse employee behaviour in performance measurement processes. Specifically, it examines the cognitive and motivational effects of employees’ participation in co-developing task-properties feedback. The cognitive dimension is addressed through the functional theory of counterfactual thinking, role ambiguity, and job-specific information, while the motivational dimension is explored using organisational justice theory. The thesis argues that active employee involvement in designing feedback about their task properties fosters performance initiative. This is attributed to enhanced counterfactual thinking heuristics, reduced role ambiguity, increased access to job-relevant information, and improved perceptions of organisational justice. The central premise is that employees’ performance initiative can be cultivated through their participation in shaping the feedback they receive. Co-developing task-properties feedback is conceptualised as a means of sustaining the information flows necessary for effective performance. Empirical evidence for this proposal is drawn from an interpretive analysis of employee perceptions of feedback, with participants selected from offices of an international transport and logistics organisation located in the United Arab Emirates and Turkiya. The findings demonstrate that employees' participation extends beyond merely implementing management control systems. Within performance measurement systems (PMS), employees can actively influence various factors, such as conceptualising performance feedback, defining feedback content, and identifying critical task-related information. By challenging traditional information flows and emphasising collaborative participation, this research provides a transformative perspective on employee involvement in PMS and lays a foundation for future studies exploring these dynamics further.
- Advisor / supervisor
- Coulson, Andrea
- Resource Type
- DOI
- Date Created
- 2025
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