Clara Xiaoling Chen (University of Illinois), Melissa Martin (Arizona State University), and Kenneth A. Merchant (USC) test a business model that includes customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction, and financial performance from a company in the homebuilding industry for the period 2001-2004.
Research and Insights Archive
Research and Insights from the Center for Effective Organizations
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Are All Nonfinancial Performance Measures Created Equal? Evidence on Customer Satisfaction and Employee Satisfaction Measures from the Homebuilding Industry
Clara Xiaoling Chen (University of Illinois), Melissa Martin (USC), and Kenneth A. Merchant’s (USC) findings suggest that the validity of a business model depends not only on the soundness of the conceptual model per se, but also on how the variables in the business model are measured.
Performance Measure Properties and Incentive System Design
Michael Gibbs (University of Chicago), Kenneth A. Merchant (USC), Wim A. Van Der Stede (London School of Economics), and Mark E. Vargas (University of Texas) analyze effects of performance measure properties (controllable and uncontrollable risk, distortion, and manipulation) on incentive plan design, using data from auto dealership manager incentive systems
National Differences in Performance-Dependent Compensation Practices: The United States vs. The Netherlands
This paper by E. Pieter Jansen (University of Groningen), Kenneth A. Merchant (USC), and Wim A. Van Der Stede (London School of Economics) describes the findings of a study aimed at providing an international replication of a U.S.-based study by Gibbs et al. (2004, 2006) focused on the performance-dependent compensation practices of firms in the automobile retailing industry.
Employment Horizon and the Choice of Performance Measures: Empirical Evidence from Annual Bonus Plans of Loss-Making Entities
Michal Matejka (University of Michigan), Kenneth A. Merchant (USC), and Wim A. Van Der Stede (London School of Economics) examine the extent to which the presence of employment horizon issues affects the relative emphasis on financial versus nonfinancial performance measures in annual bonus plans.
Are All Nonfinancial Performance Measures Created Equal?
Clara Ziaoling Chen (University of Illinois), Melissa Martin, and Kenneth A. Merchant (USC) test the business model of a company in the homebuilding industry using its monthly customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction, and financial data for over 200 projects for the period 2001-2004.
Performance Measure Properties and Incentives
Michael Gibbs (University of Chicago), Kenneth A. Merchant (USC), Wim A. Van Der Stede (London School of Economics), and Mark E. Vargus (University of Texas) provide a comprehensive empirical analysis of incentive design, focusing on effects of performance measure properties (controllable and uncontrollable risk, distortion, and ma-nipulation).
Performance Measure Choice and Target Setting in Loss-Making Firms
Kenneth A. Merchant (USC), Wim A. Van Der Stede (USC), and Michal Matejka (University of Michigan) share that prior research has shown the absence of a significant link between financial performance measures and cash incentive payments in loss-making firms, but only conjectures have been offered to explain this finding.
Performance Measure Choice and Target Setting in Loss-Making Firms
Kenneth A. Merchant (USC), Wim A. Van Der Stede (USC), and Michal Matejka (University of Michigan) examine the choice of performance measures and performance target difficulty in CEO annual bonus plans in loss-making firms.
Disciplinary Constraints on the Advancement of Knowledge: The Case of Organizational Incentive Systems
Kenneth A. Merchant, Wim A. Van Der Stede, and Liu Zheng argue that research progress in accounting has been significantly hindered by most researchers’ excessively narrow focus on a single research discipline.
Control of International Joint Ventures
Tom L.C.M. Groot and Kenneth A. Merchant explain that as markets have become more globalized and competitive, it has become increasingly difficult for any single company to excel, and thus be competitive, in all aspects of a given business.
Measurement, Evaluation and Reward of Profit Center Managers: A Cross Cultural Field Study
In this study, Kenneth A. Merchant and Chee W. Chow, Anne Wu, explored differences between U.S. and Taiwanese firms in measuring, evaluating and rewarding profit center managers, a subject which has not been addressed in the research literature.