EARNINGS MANAGEMENT IN RESPONSE TO FAIR TREATMENT: THE ROLES OF ORGANIZATIONAL IDENTITY AND MORAL IDENTITY

Abstract

Fraud continues to be an issue that organizations face globally, losing an estimated 5% of annual revenue for a total of $4.5 trillion globally. However, fraudulent behavior is difficult to study due to the unacceptable nature of it. I provide researchers with an adapted measure of earnings management that mitigates the socially undesirable act of earnings management which can suppress findings in self-reported studies. Additionally, based on the target similarity model, my dissertation considers accountants’ perception of fair treatment by the organization on willingness to engage in earnings management benefiting the organization. I survey 123 financial and managerial accountants to understand this relationship as explained through organizational identification, a social exchange indicator. Results support a positive indirect relationship between organizational justice and unethical pro-organizational behavior–earnings management, mediated by organizational identification. Furthermore, moral identity moderates the relationship between organizational identification and earnings management such that the relationships is weakened for individuals with high moral identity as compared to those with low moral identity.