Table 1
Mean probability ratings (1–5) of exaggerated reports for consultants with or without a goal.
| Goal | No goal | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M | SD | M | SD | |
| Performance | 2.93 | (1.21) | 2.92 | (0.95) |
| Money | 3.41 | (1.10) | 2.58 | (0.90) |
| Time | 3.90 | (0.81) | 2.50 | (1.28) |
| Total | 3.36 | (1.14) | 2.67 | (1.07) |
Table 2
Which consultant is more likely to hand in an exaggerated report? Number of participants selecting consultant with or without goal in two conditions.
| Performance as expected | Underperformance | χ2 | p | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goal | No goal | Goal | No goal | |||||||
| n | % | n | % | n | % | n | % | |||
| Performance | 24 | (30.7) | 54 | (69.3) | 27 | (69.3) | 12 | (30.7) | 15.64 | .000 |
| Money | 23 | (40.3) | 54 | (59.3) | 27 | (71.1) | 11 | (28.9) | 17.56 | .000 |
| Time | 19 | (24.7) | 58 | (75.3) | 27 | (71.1) | 11 | (28.9) | 22.80 | .000 |
Table 3
Mean probability ratings (1–6) of exaggerated reports for consultants with or without a goal.
| Goal | No goal | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M | SD | M | SD | |
| Performance | 3.38 | (0.97) | 2.93 | (1.17) |
| Money | 3.00 | (1.38) | 3.10 | (1.52) |
| Time (hours) | 3.53 | (1.13) | 2.64 | (1.07) |
| Total | 3.33 | (1.18) | 2.87 | (1.24) |
Table 4
Which firm is more likely to hand in an exaggerated report? Number (percentages) of participants selecting firm with or without specific target in two conditions.
| Performance on target | Performance below target | χ2 | p | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goal | No goal | Goal | No goal | |||||||
| n | % | n | % | n | % | n | % | |||
| Projects | 13 | (18.0) | 59 | (72.0) | 49 | (69.1) | 22 | (30.9) | 37.80 | .000 |
| Consulting hours | 15 | (20.3) | 57 | (69.7) | 62 | (86.1) | 10 | (13.9) | 61.66 | .000 |
| Completion time | 9 | (12.7) | 62 | (87.3) | 57 | (71.9) | 13 | (18.1) | 66.92 | .000 |
Table 5
Which firm is more tempted to report inflated performance? Number (percentages) of participants selecting Firm A or Firm B in three conditions.
| Firm A | n | % | Firm B | n | % | binomial p |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Condition 1: 95–100 | 27 | (58.7) | 60–70 | 19 | (41.3) | n.s. |
| Condition 2: 90–100 | 23 | (40.4) | 60–70 | 34 | (59.6) | n.s. |
| Condition 3: 85–100 | 11 | (26.8) | 60–75 | 30 | (73.2) | 0.025 |
Table 6
Which firm is more tempted to report inflated performance? Number (percentages) of participants selecting Firm A or Firm B in three conditions.
| Firm A | n | % | Firm B | n | % | binomial p |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Condition 4: 95–100 | 24 | (45.3) | 40–50 | 29 | (54.7) | n.s. |
| Condition 5: 90–100 | 25 | (53.2) | 40–50 | 22 | (46.8) | n.s. |
| Condition 6: 85–95 | 9 | (22.0) | 40–50 | 32 | (78.0) | 0.00 |