The second study examines two potential cognitive difficulties in the utilization of systems containing financial and nonfinancial performance measures. First, this study examines the effect of relative performance to target on perceived importance of different performance measures. Whether performance was better than target, worse than target, or equal to target did not affect the perceived importance of the measure. These results suggest users of performance measurement systems will not alter the relative weight placed on a particular measure regardless of its position vis-à-vis the targeted or expected results.Second, this study examines the potential for overweighting financial measures as compared to nonfinancial measures in the evaluation of an organization’s overall performance. The results suggest an emphasis on historical financial measures and a lack of emphasis on more forward-looking nonfinancial measures. In addition, the study provides evidence of a halo effect in that an organization’s performance on financial measures appears to influence an individual’s perception of the organization’s performance on nonfinancial measures.The third study examines the effect of personality on the usage of information by top executives in evaluating organizational performance. Results suggest that a cognitive characteristic of executives, specifically their intolerance of ambiguity, affects the amount of information perceived to be important in a performance measurement system. This was compelling in light of additional evidence suggesting the amount of information perceived to be important and the evaluation of organizational performance were positively correlated, with perceived risk as a mediating variable.The remainder of this dissertation is organized as follows. Chapters 2 through 4 each contain separate research studies. Each includes an introduction, a review of the relevant prior literature, a description of the research methodology, a summary of the results, a discussion of the findings, and a section containing references. Figures and tables are grouped together at the end of each chapter. A conclusion to the dissertation is provided in chapter 5. The appendices contain survey and case materials relating to chapters 2 through 4.
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