@article{7986fe31bd0246679ddc62ac0f21c289,
title = "Decoding effort: Toward a measure – and a new understanding – of effort intensity in accounting research",
abstract = "This study introduces pupillometry – the measurement of pupil diameter changes – as a direct approach to capturing effort intensity in management accounting research. Traditional approaches using self-reports or performance-based proxies have limited researchers{\textquoteright} ability to study how management control systems influence behavior through effort. Using a controlled experiment with a decoding task, we examine how piece-rate versus flat-wage compensation influences effort intensity and performance. Our findings show that pupil dilation partially mediates the relationship between incentives and performance, with this mediation strongest in early experimental rounds before weakening over time. This dynamic pattern suggests that while incentives initially influence performance through effort intensity, other mechanisms such as implicit learning emerge in later rounds. Beyond demonstrating pupillometry's validity for measuring effort intensity, we highlight its potential applications across management accounting research streams, enabling researchers to better understand how control system elements influence behavior through effort.",
keywords = "Effort intensity, Eye tracking, Incentives, Performance, Pupillometry",
author = "Gary Hecht and Kristian Rotaru and Schulz, {Axel K.D.} and Towry, {Kristy L.} and Alan Webb",
note = "The authors wish to thank Heba Abdel-Rahim, Alex Bruggen, Eddy Cardinaels, Alexander Dokumentov, Christoph Feichter, Isabella Grabner, Serena Loftus, Victor Maas, Stijn Masschelein, Harmen Oppewal, Sunda Panda, Heba Yousef Abdel, Odkhishig Ganbold, Adam Presslee, participants at the MAS Midyear Meeting, the AAA Annual Meeting, the Accounting & Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand Conference, the ABO Research Conference, the Production and Operations Management Conference, the Monash Business Behavioural Laboratory Symposium on Eye Tracking and seminar participants at University of Amsterdam, Maastricht University, Monash University, and University of Western Australia. We also thank the Monash Business School and the Australian Research Council (ARC LIEF grant LE130100112) for funds associated with the equipment used in the Monash Business Behavioural Laboratory (Monash University, Australia), where the experiment was conducted. The authors wish to thank Heba Abdel-Rahim, Alex Bruggen, Eddy Cardinaels, Alexander Dokumentov, Christoph Feichter, Isabella Grabner, Serena Loftus, Victor Maas, Stijn Masschelein, Harmen Oppewal, Sunda Panda, Heba Yousef Abdel, Odkhishig Ganbold, Adam Presslee, participants at the MAS Midyear Meeting, the AAA Annual Meeting, the Accounting & Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand Conference, the ABO Research Conference, the Production and Operations Management Conference, the Monash Business Behavioural Laboratory Symposium on Eye Tracking and seminar participants at University of Amsterdam, Maastricht University, Monash University, and University of Western Australia. We also thank the Monash Business School and the Australian Research Council (ARC LIEF grant LE130100112) for funds associated with the equipment used in the Monash Business Behavioural Laboratory, where the experiment was conducted.",
year = "2025",
month = jun,
doi = "10.1016/j.mar.2025.100926",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "66",
journal = "Management Accounting Research",
issn = "1044-5005",
publisher = "Academic Press",
}