To share or not to share: How providing financial information to employees affects their behaviors and perceptions

One management practice that has evolved in organizations over the last 20 years is the dissemination of financial information to employees. The philosophy behind this practice encourages organizations to share information that was once available only to the firm's senior stakeholders (e.g., the senior management team, board of directors, shareholders, etc.) with a larger array of workers.; Despite the widespread presence of financial information sharing within organizations, no systematic attention has been given to how this information affects employees. This dissertation is a first step in examining the role played by the dissemination of financial information within organizations, and research contained herein will enhance understanding of this phenomenon in three ways.; First, it provides data on the type of financial information shared with employees. Second, it proposes a framework for examining how shared financial information affects employees' attitudes and on-the-job behaviors. There are at least three ways in which shared financial information can affect employees: (1) by encouraging them to become more engaged in the firm's goals and in turn direct their attention to tasks that will ultimately increase their effectiveness; (2) by impacting their level of effort expended on particular tasks as directed by financial information; and (3) by influencing their attitudes about their relationship with the employer (e.g., employees' perception of the company's transparency, psychological ownership in the firm, and their trust in management), all of which can impact their organizational commitment. Third, it outlines a set of organizational practices (e.g., human resource practices) that supports financial information sharing and its effects on employees' behaviors and perceptions. How these effects and support practices affect worker outcomes such as in-role and extra-role performance is also examined.; Data from 258 employees in a financial services firm suggest there are at least five types of financial information shared with employees. Results indicate that shared financial information has a positive impact on employees' direction of effort to job tasks, their perception that the firm is transparent, their psychological ownership of the firm, and their trust in management. In particular, employees' psychological ownership and trust in management enhance their organizational commitment.