Subordinate accountants' perceptions of their superiors' leadership and performance: The study of moderating variables in the accounting profession

Raul Tapia, University of Texas at El Paso

Abstract

The purpose of this dissertation was to examine whether or not the self-monitoring component of adaptive self-regulation and perceptions of organizational politics moderate an accountant's interpersonal traits (interpersonal power and interpersonal trust) of how they perceived their superiors' performance and leadership ability. Accounting is a very diverse field in which individuals must work closely with their superiors to accomplish given tasks. With regulations and high principles that must be followed in daily work, accountants must act in large part to the expectations of others to complete their tasks correctly. Accountants who trust their superiors and have more confidence in his/her superior's abilities would be better able to complete tasks because they are more committed to the project. Organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB) are desirable behaviors that can be linked to overall organizational behaviors, making it the wanted approach for organizations and businesses (Podsakoff et al., 1997, George and Bettenhausen, 1990; Organ and Konovsky, 1989). This can benefit both the client and the industry as a whole. Perceived performance and perceived leadership are both important factors that need to be further examined in an accounting setting. They are important because accountants with a good reputation generally are more successful in their careers. This study looked to reveal that this is accomplished by acting in response to the expectations of others, such as their organization or superior. This means that the perception of effective performance and leadership can be met by meeting the expectations that the organization or superior has set for each individual. This study contributes to accounting practice because the benefits of higher quality work enhance everyone's ability to better assess the accounting profession. A contribution to the literature from this study is to help extend research in adaptive self-regulation by using it as a moderating factor. This moderating effect shows the interaction of individual characteristics to determine how this influences an individual's perception of leadership. This has not been done in accounting research.

Subject Area

Accounting|Organizational behavior

Recommended Citation

Tapia, Raul, "Subordinate accountants' perceptions of their superiors' leadership and performance: The study of moderating variables in the accounting profession" (2014). ETD Collection for University of Texas, El Paso. AAI3636304.
https://scholarworks.utep.edu/dissertations/AAI3636304

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