اکتشاف نظریه مباشرت در یک سازمان غیرانتفاعی

The aim of this study is to understand the ability of stewardship theory, as compared with agency theory, to explain motivation of the staff in a Not-for-Profit (NFP) organisation. Agency theory is seen as providing an explanation of motivation in the business sector however we argue that the different cultural and organisational conditions weaken the explanatory power of agency theory in the NFP sector. In pursuing this investigation, we were mindful of Brinberg's (2009) encouragement for a more outward-looking approach to management accounting issues and in particular his call for the use qualitative research methods and to allow practice to inform theory. Interviews were conducted with staff of a NFP organisation to gauge the impact of the introduction of a bonus scheme. The interviews sought to provide answers to three questions: what is the main source of motivation in the organisation? Were tensions created in the organisation by the introduction of the bonus scheme? Was there a change in the culture of the organisation, comprising camaraderie between staff, having fun at work, trust between management and staff, and an attitude of service to clients?

The aim of this study is to inform the theoretical debate as to the appropriateness of stewardship theory, as compared with agency theory, to explain motivation of staff in the Not-For-Profit (NFP) sector. The study observes organisational practice with a view to informing theory. This is a departure from the experimental research method. Specifically, using qualitative data, we have examined the introduction of an extrinsic reward into a NFP organisation that, in the past, relied upon the intrinsic motivation of their staff. Hence, the contribution of the paper is twofold. It is carried out in a non-traditional setting, and it allows practice to inform theory. Brown, Evans and Moser (2009) argue that agency theory is widely accepted as an explanation of human behaviour and holds a place of primacy in managerial accounting. However, these authors do make the point that the hypotheses of agency theory studies are so constructed that agency theory will be confirmed as the most appropriate explanation. Orthodox management considers that the performance of activities and the measurement of that performance occur in an organisational context in which there is a contractual relationship between employer and employee, both of whom are considered to be self-interested (Baiman, 1990, Eisenhardt, 1989 and Jensen and Meckling, 1976). Jensen and Meckling (1976), in support of agency theory, make the point that organisations are made up of individuals who are wealth maximisers and who make decisions independently of others in the organisation, ignoring the impact of inter-personal dynamics. They will concentrate on tasks that provide opportunities to increase their pay, via such methods as a bonus scheme. While agency theory appears to have received wide acceptance as an explanation of motivation in the business sector, there exists a substantial body of criticism of the theory. For example, Upton (2009) suggests that personality factors are important in the question of motivation. Further, the NFP literature presents a number of examples that lead to the conclusion that agency theory does not have the same explanatory power in the NFP sector. While an exhaustive comparison of the explanatory ability of the two theories is beyond the scope of a single paper, an examination of the impact of an extrinsic reward on the motivation of staff sheds light on the ability of stewardship theory to explain the motivation of NFP staff. The criteria we use for assessing any impact on motivation of staff are staff collegiality, the relationship between staff and management, and staff attitudes toward service to and care of their clients. The debate about the influence of extrinsic and intrinsic rewards on motivation appears to be cast in dichotomous terms. Intrinsic rewards are personal, “internal” responses, such as satisfaction or pride in an accomplishment. According to Ryan and Deci (2000) fun and challenge are of greater significance to an intrinsically motivated person than external pressures and rewards. Both sides of the debate point to research supporting the importance of extrinsic and intrinsic rewards, respectively, to the motivation of staff. However, much of the evidence indicating the importance of extrinsic rewards comes from the business sector or was obtained using an experimental research method in which the context of the task is not considered. In fact participants in experiments are often required to perform trivial tasks. The focus of the experiment is usually to determine the effects of changing the level or frequency of rewards rather than what the participants are required to do. However, in a human services context the nature of the task is not trivial and in all likelihood is the reason for the employee being in the sector (Schepers et al., 2005). The fact that an individual is working in a NFP organisation is indicative of a set of values in which extrinsic rewards are not the first consideration (Preston, 1989, Roomkin and Weisbrod, 1999 and Weisbrod, 1983). Because context is important, Brinberg (2009) argues for a broader approach to researching the operation of control systems, such as the use of extrinsic rewards. He calls for research into the control cycle in non-traditional settings, and argues for allowing practice to inform theory. The research reported in this paper follows Brinberg's suggestion. It considers practice within an NFP organisation and uses this practice to inform the theoretical debate as to the ability of stewardship theory, as compared with agency theory, to explain motivation of staff in Not-For-Profit (NFP) organisations. In the next section of this paper various theories of motivation will be examined, including a discussion of motivation in both the public sector and NFP organisations. Section 3 describes the organisation in which the research took place and explains the introduction of the extrinsic reward. Section 4 outlines the research questions and research method. This is followed by Section 5 – presentation of the interview data, and Section 6 is a discussion of the results. Finally, Section 7 presents our conclusions.

This paper takes a behavioural perspective in both its research method and its research questions and is in contrast to the economic studies undertaken in the business sector. We believe that this paper answers the call of Brinberg (2009) to look outwards (not inwards) and in an inter-disciplinary manner, and to consider how practice may inform theory. We also believe that this paper questions the widely-held assumption that agency theory has primacy in managerial accounting (Brown et al., 2009); and, based on the research results reported in this paper we suggest that stewardship theory offers a better, richer explanation of employee motivation in the NFP sector. Intrinsic motivational factors have been found to be important, in both the presence and absence of an employee bonus scheme. Extrinsic motivators do play a role, but not to the extent that agency theory would suggest. The bonus had little impact on the primacy of intrinsic rewards, on the creation of tensions, and on the organisation's culture. The staff of the NFP organisation in which this study took place were concerned to achieve the organisation's goals and their behaviour lacked the self-interest expected under agency theory. Stewardship theory takes account of inter-employee relationships and their potential to affect the attainment of organisational goals, and therefore provides a better explanation of the impact of an extrinsic reward. Our analysis has indicated that the motivational effect of extrinsic rewards – taken as being important in the business sector – is greatly-reduced in the NFP sector. NFP staff appear to be motivated along the lines of stewardship theory. Policy implications of this for the sector are that offering employees performance-related bonuses is of doubtful motivational effect. NFP organisations need to support stewardship behaviour amongst their staff: support of employee concern for clients, support of camaraderie and cooperation amongst staff, support a relationship of trust between management and staff. This paper highlights the complex nature of motivation which, we suggest, cannot be explained by agency theory. However, this paper has the limitation of being based on a study of one organisation, and therefore begs the question of the applicability of our findings to the whole NFP sector. The results reported in this paper were gained from one NFP organisation, using only interview data from a relatively small sample. Therefore the conclusions should be tentative, notwithstanding that they are strongly indicative. Our findings give direction to future research. In particular, we suggest that interview data be collected across the sector, and be supplemented by sector-wide statistical data and analysis.