Job perceptions and turnover behavior of tenure-track accounting educators

J. of Acc. Ed. 18 (2000) 315±340

www.elsevier.com/locate/jaccedu

Job perceptions and turnover behavior of tenure-track accounting educators Joyce A. Strawser a,*, James C. Flagg b, Sarah A. Holmes b a

Seton Hall University, 400 South Orange Avenue, South Orange, NJ 07079, USA b Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA Received 1 January 1999; accepted 1 November 2000

Abstract This paper compares the job-related need ful®llment of academic accountants in 1994 with that reported nearly a quarter of a century earlier by Carpenter and Strawser (1971. A study of the job satisfaction of academic accountants. The Accounting Review (July), 46, 509-518). We also investigate whether job dissonance (dissatisfaction resulting from unmet needs) foreshadowed turnover of faculty respondents during the 2-year period following our survey. Results suggest that ful®llment for most job-related needs was lower for 1994 accounting educators than for their 1970 counterparts. Within the 1994 sample, certain perceptual differences were attributed to both race (black versus non-black) and gender. Regardless of demographics, however, reported job dissonance in 1994 was strongly associated with subsequent job turnover, particularly among assistant professors. Taking steps to reduce or eliminate job dissonance is arguably more important in today's environment than in 1994. Accounting faculty members today enjoy a greater number of opportunities and thus can more readily remove themselves from situations that create perceived job dissonance. # 2001 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Job perceptions; Job satisfaction; Job dissonance; Academic accountants; Gender di€erences; Racial di€erences; Turnover behaviour

Maslow (1943, 1954) asserts that human motives emerge sequentially to satisfy a hierarchy of ®ve needs: physiological (food, clothing, shelter, sex), safety (physical protection), social (opportunities to develop close associations with other persons),

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +1-973-761-9225; fax: +1-973-761-9217. E-mail address: [email protected] (J.A. Strawser). 0748-5751/01/$ - see front matter # 2001 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. PII: S0748-5751(01)00004-5

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achievement/esteem (prestige received from others), and self-actualization (opportunities for self-ful®llment and accomplishment through personal growth). Individual need satisfaction is in¯uenced both by the importance attached to various needs and the degree to which each individual perceives that di€erent aspects of his or her life should, and actually do, ful®ll these needs. Porter (1961) argues that within the work environment, individuals develop attitudes concerning their jobs based upon their perceptions of the presence or absence of positively-valued job characteristics that address speci®c needs. Thus, a person's job satisfaction is contingent on that individual's expectations of and actual need ful®llment from his or her position. Job dissonance results when job-related expectations and needs remain unful®lled. In their interpretation of Maslow's theory, Salancik and Pfe€er (1977) suggest that some needs are instinctual and remain invariant over time, while other needs are learned and may vary in response to a changing environment. These needs may be viewed as constructs that are used by individuals to organize their thinking. Numerous forces in the academic environment, some of which were non-existent a generation ago, a€ect the job-related needs of current accounting educators. For example, pressures to increase teaching course-loads and to in¯ate grades, external forces to incorporate more technical content and competencies development into the accounting curriculum, institutional demands to produce publishable research, legal mandates to accept a more diverse mix within both the professoriate and the profession, and ®scal pressures have combined to create an atmosphere in which academics may feel increasingly dissatis®ed, frustrated, resentful, and possibly, less secure in their jobs than they have in the past. This study investigates three separate, yet related, aspects of job-related need ful®llment. First, we provide a historical perspective by comparing the results of the Carpenter and Strawser (1971) study of accounting academics' perceptions of speci®c job characteristics with perceptions held by accounting educators in 1994. We replicate Carpenter and Strawser's research questions, but use di€erent methods to obtain respondents and di€erent analytical techniques to compare academic perceptions between two speci®c points in time ± 1970 and 1994. We examine the 1994 data in greater detail to determine whether personal characteristics, such as race and gender, are associated with di€erences in reported need ful®llment. Finally, we explore whether greater levels of reported job dissonance (dissatisfaction resulting from unmet needs) are associated with subsequent turnover behavior by examining the actual turnover of respondents for a 2-year period following our survey. The results of our study suggest that the actual ful®llment of speci®c needs through an academic's job was lower in 1994 than in 1970. Further, expectations concerning the extent to which individual needs should be met through the workplace were also lower in 1994. Cross-sectional analysis of the perceptions of 1994 academic accountants indicates that, while no signi®cant di€erences in job dissonance existed along either gender or racial lines, blacks expected to receive, and did in fact receive, greater need ful®llment from their jobs than did their non-black counterparts. Similarly, males expected to receive, and did receive, greater need ful®llment from their jobs than did females. Regardless of gender or race, reported job

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dissonance expressed by accounting academics in 1994 was found to be associated with subsequent turnover behavior, particularly among assistant professors. The remainder of the paper is organized in four sections. The initial section reviews the relevant literature and discusses the research questions addressed in this study. The second section provides details of our research design and describes the Carpenter and Strawser (1971) need satisfaction questionnaire used in this study. The next section presents an analysis of the results. The ®nal section acknowledges limitations, draws conclusions, and considers the implications of the ®ndings for accounting academics. 1. Background This section summarizes relevant literature in three distinct areas. First, we examine the developments that support our expectation of di€erences in the jobrelated perceptions of 1970 and 1994 academics. We then provide justi®cation for our investigation of the relationship between personal characteristics (gender, race) and job-related perceptions of accounting academics. Finally, we provide the background for our analysis of expressed job dissonance and actual turnover behavior. 1.1. Analysis of perceptions Ð a comparison of two periods Jobs have certain characteristics that, within a given environmental context, will produce both intrinsic and extrinsic rewards that satisfy individual needs to varying degrees. Since both the design of speci®c jobs and the mix of human needs may evolve as changes occur in the surrounding environment, reported job-related need ful®llment may also change over time.1 The results of previous empirical studies provide evidence that faculty perceptions are not invariant. For example, Locke, Fitzpatrick, and White (1983) noted that the mean overall levels of faculty job satisfaction reported after 1979 were lower than those reported prior to 1970.2 More recently, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) concluded that fulltime instructional faculty members were less satis®ed with their work in the fall of 1992 than they were in the fall of 1987 (US Department of Education, 1997).3 1

An employee's job attitudes are likely to change over time as he or she progresses through various career stages and experiences increases in age and job tenure. We are not exploring this e€ect. Instead, our discussion in this section and our subsequent analysis are concerned with general changes in the perceptions of academic accountants employed at two distinct periods of time. Thus, our study does not investigate changes in the attitudes of a single group of respondents over time. Instead, we compare the perceptions of two distinct samples of accounting educators drawn at di€erent time periods. 2 When asked, ``If you had your life to live over, would you like to end up in the same job as you have now?'', only 41% of the Locke et al. university faculty sample responded positively. When this same question was put to garbage collectors in 1972 (Locke & Whiting, 1974), 46% responded in the armative. 3 Two recent studies highlighted the decrease in job satisfaction experienced by practicing attorneys (Gubernick & Levine, 1996) and physicians (Hadley & Mitchell, 1997). Overall, the levels of and trends in job satisfaction observed among other professional groups are of special relevance. Tenure-track accounting educators, like physicians and attorneys, are likely to expect a higher return on the cost of their additional education and certi®cation requirements.

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Joseph Schultz, 1996 President of the American Accounting Association (AAA, 1996), identi®ed the decision by the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business, in the late 1960s, to require a doctoral degree for ``terminally quali®ed'' accounting faculty as the factor that created a ``truly seminal change'' in the market for accounting academics. Bricker and Previts (1990) note that this event led to a concomitant movement by accounting educators toward the adoption of the social science research model, causing added weight to be placed on the research dimension in promotion and tenure decisions. Numerous studies (Campbell & Morgan, 1987; Cargile & Bublitz, 1986; Englebrecht, Iyer, & Patterson, 1994; Holland & Arrington, 1987; Kida & Mannino, 1980; Milne & Vent, 1987; Sarhan & Roberts, 1989; Schultz, Meade, & Khurana, 1989; Stewart & Stewart, 1997; Wisdom & Teer, 1989) con®rm the redirection of accounting educators away from teaching and toward research. Did the shift in emphasis away from teaching and toward research impact accounting academics' job satisfaction? One objective of our research e€ort is to compare 1994 levels of accounting educators' espoused need ful®llment with levels reported in 1970. Such an examination provides the historical perspective, or context, for understanding current issues facing accounting academics. Although the evidence cited above suggests that greater job dissonance may prevail, only through replication (e.g. using an instrument identical to that employed in an earlier study) can we state with con®dence that any observed changes in attitudes result from a changing environment, and not from the instrument employed. 1.2. Cross-sectional analysis Ð job perceptions of 1994 academics In addition to the comparison of need ful®llment discussed above, we also test whether di€erences exist among subsets of the sample of 1994 academics. Speci®cally, we examine race and gender. 1.2.1. Race The accounting profession has identi®ed the lack of diversity in its membership as a signi®cant problem existing in both practice and academe (AICPA, 1998a; NYSSCPA, 1990; PhD Project, 1999). In 1992, KPMG confronted this problem by inaugurating the PhD Project, with the explicit goal of enlarging the pool of minority business faculty members by encouraging minority enrollment in PhD programs.4 African±Americans comprise a major group targeted in this e€ort.5 Our analysis of the information provided in Hasselback's (1994) Accounting Faculty Directory indicates that, in 1994, there were only 77 black accounting faculty members among the total of 4144 tenure-track accounting professors (2%). More 4 The PhD Project (1999) was inaugurated by KPMG, with the assistance of several business and academic organizations. The Project utilizes a holistic approach to improve workplace diversity by diversifying business school faculties. The Project conducts an annual search to ®nd minority business executives willing to leave their jobs and pursue a PhD in business. In addition, project-sponsored doctoral student associations and scholarship programs support minorities enrolled in PhD programs. The leadership notes that ``the creation of one single minority professor can in¯uence the aspirations and careers of thousands of future students Ð for a lifetime.''

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recent statistics on the integration of black accounting academics are not particularly encouraging. Surveys conducted by the AICPA (1996a, 1998b) indicate that, while overall enrollment in PhD programs decreased by 11% from the 1994±1995 academic year to the 1995±96 academic year (870 students in 1994±95 and 770 students in 1995±1996), the total number of minority students enrolled in PhD programs decreased by 43% (290 minority students in 1994±1995 and only 165 minority students in 1995±1996). Of the 770 accounting PhD students enrolled in 1995±1996, approximately 6% (45 students) were black (AICPA, 1998b, p.13). In addition, the percentage of black PhD graduates reported by schools responding to the AICPA surveys declined from 5% in 1994±1995 to less than one-half of one percent in 1995± 1996 (AICPA, 1996b, p. 9; AICPA, 1998c, p. 9). Due to the inadequate representation of blacks on accounting faculties and in doctoral programs, examination of the job-related ful®llment of black accounting academics is an important endeavor. Insight into the job experience of black accounting educators may be useful in e€orts to recruit and retain this important group. Accordingly, this paper investigates the satisfaction levels of black tenuretrack accounting educators and compares their job satisfaction with that reported by their non-black colleagues. 1.2.2. Gender We also investigate whether the job satisfaction of accounting academics di€ers by gender. Relevant to the current study, Tack and Patitu (1992) note that gender differences in reported job satisfaction of faculty members have been inconsistent.6 Certain studies report that female educators experience lower overall job satisfaction than do their male colleagues (e.g. Ethington, Smart, & Zeltmann, 1989; Hollon & Gemmill, 1976; Ri€e, Salomone, & Stempel, 1998; Winkler, 1982; Wissman, 1988). However, other researchers have found no signi®cant gender-related di€erences in overall satisfaction (Olsen, Maple, & Stage, 1995; Smith & Plant, 1982; Wolfson, 1986). An explanation of these inconsistencies may be that the studies were conducted in environments that employed varying proportions of male and female faculty members. Hill (1984, p. 179) and Wissman (1988, p. 41) concluded that female educators tend to be less satis®ed in male-dominated work environments Ð the environment that existed for 1994 accounting academics. 5 According to the US Bureau of the Census, as of June 1, 1999, blacks comprise 12.8% of the US population, individuals of Asian and Paci®c Islander heritage comprise 4% and individuals of Hispanic heritage comprise 11.5%. Because of their large representation in the general population, all groups are worthy of study. However, we felt it was most important to focus our analysis on the `at risk' groups Ð those minority groups that have been historically underrepresented in academe. The KPMG Foundation, in its e€orts to increase the diversity of business school faculty, has identi®ed African±Americans, Hispanic±Americans and Native Americans as groups that it speci®cally targets (PhD Project, 1999). Our inability to obtain a reliable listing for Hispanic American and Native American accounting academics caused us to limit our analysis to black accounting academics. We queried the entire known population of black accounting academics to assure that we would obtain a broad representation of this group. 6 While accounting researchers have examined gender di€erences in job satisfaction, most of these investigations have focused on the public accounting environment (e.g. Collins, 1993; Dalton et al., 1997; Lehman, 1992; Pillsbury, Capozzoli & Ciampa, 1989; Reed & Strawser, 1994; Wescott & Seiler, 1986).

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Women are relatively new entrants into the accounting academic world. Norgaard (1989, pp. 13±14) notes that, in 1988, male accounting academics were fairly evenly dispersed among the ranks of full, associate, and assistant professor. In contrast, female accounting academics were clustered at (or below) the assistant rank, with less than 25% at the associate or full rank. Carol®, Pillsbury and Hasselback (1996) report that, in 1993, more than 69% of schools included in their study had no more than a single female accounting faculty member; indeed, 37% of schools did not report the employment of any women accounting educators. In the current study, we assess the relative satisfaction of female accounting educators in greater depth and contrast their need ful®llment with that reported by their male colleagues. 1.3. Turnover Previous research to identify the causes of employee turnover has examined the relationship between several antecedent variables and turnover intentions. With respect to the practice environment, studies have con®rmed that measures of employee job satisfaction are negatively associated with turnover intentions, both generally within the business sector (Arnold & Feldman, 1982; Koch & Steers, 1978; Lee & Mowday, 1987; Michaels & Spector, 1982; Mobley, Horner, & Hollingsworth, 1978) and more speci®cally in a public accounting setting (Harrell, 1990; Harrell & Stahl, 1984; Rasch & Harrell, 1990; Snead & Harrell, 1991). Signi®cant relationships between organizational commitment and turnover intentions have also been documented in both settings (Arnold & Feldman, 1982; Harrell, 1990; Lee & Mowday, 1987; Michaels & Spector, 1982). More recent investigations provide evidence that work/personal-life variables (Dalton, Hill, & Ramsey, 1997; Hooks, Thomas, & Stout, 1997) and general lifestyle preferences (Bernardi, 1998; Bernardi & Arnold, 1998) in¯uence turnover in the public accounting environment. In contrast to the body of work discussed above, relatively little attention has been directed at examining the turnover of accounting academics. In his investigation of accounting educators, Bline (1994) observed a direct negative relationship between job satisfaction and both turnover intentions and actual turnover behavior. His results also indicate a strong indirect relationship between organizational commitment and turnover intentions. Ameen, Jackson, Pasewark, and Strawser, (1995) concluded that both job insecurity and job satisfaction are directly related to turnover intentions of accounting educators. Quali®cations must be attached to any conclusions drawn from most of the earlier research. Although Hooks et al. (1997, p. 20) argue that using ``intent'' permits access to ``before the separation'' perceptions and data and thus avoids any ``hindsight'' bias, Ameen et al. (1995, p. 79) and Dalton et al. (1997, p. 31) note that turnover intentions may not re¯ect actual outcomes. Dalton et al. (1997, p. 44) admit, however, that certain demand characteristics may make their alternative construct Ð self-reported data subsequent to actual turnover Ð less than totally accurate. Our study di€ers from the work described above in two important respects. First, consistent with the methodology employed by Carpenter and Strawser (1971), we

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use a measure of job dissonance (the di€erence between expectations and actual need ful®llment) rather than a direct measure of job satisfaction. In addition, our study removes the limitations of most prior studies by exploring the relationship between job attitudes (dissonance) espoused in 1994 (prior to separation) and actual turnover behavior that occurred during the 1995 and 1996 academic years, using the same respondent group. In sum, to provide additional insight into the issues identi®ed above, our study addresses the following research hypotheses (stated in the alternate form): H1: The job-related need ful®llment of 1994 accounting academics di€ers fromthat reported by accounting academics in 1970. H2: Accounting academics with di€erent personal characteristics (gender, race) di€er in their level of job-related ful®llment. H3: Greater levels of expressed job dissonance are associated with subsequent turnover behavior.

2. Research design 2.1. Subjects Three groups of academics were surveyed to address the research questions identi®ed above. In order to replicate Carpenter and Strawser's (1971) study, a systematic sample of 414 accounting academics was drawn from Hasselback's (1994) Accounting Faculty Directory.7 Every tenth tenure-track faculty member holding a terminal degree was included in this sample. Survey instruments were not anonymous, thus allowing us the opportunity to track the subsequent turnover behavior of respondents. Usable responses were received from 221 educators, resulting in a response rate of 53.4%. Table 1 provides a comparison of our sample respondents and the population of tenure-track accounting faculty with terminal degrees along the dimensions of gender, race, rank, and university aliation.8 As Table 1 indicates, the composition 7 Both educators and practicing accountants served as subjects in the Carpenter and Strawser (1971) study. Random samples of 200 accounting academics and 200 accounting practitioners were drawn from the membership directories of the American Accounting Association and the American Institute of Certi®ed Public Accountants, respectively. Response rates were relatively high, with 82% of the educators and 65.5% of the practitioners providing usable responses. While the analysis focused primarily on the job satisfaction of academics, practitioners' responses provided a basis for comparing the two groups. 8 In comparing the respondents to the population, we used the Carnegie classi®cation of the respondent's employer to group respondents (Carnegie Council, 1987). This classi®cation system divides all educational institutions into nine distinct categories according to whether the institution is deemed to be a research university (two distinct levels), a doctoral-granting university (two distinct levels), a comprehensive university or college (two distinct levels), a liberal arts college (two distinct levels), or a special institution. Institutions were grouped into three categories. Group I included those institutions classi®ed as ``Research Universities I'' and ``Research Universities II''. Group II institutions consisted of ``Doctoralgranting Universities I'', ``Doctoral-granting Universities II'', and ``Special Institutions''. Group III institutions included the four remaining categories identi®ed by the Carnegie Foundation.

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of our respondent group is very similar to that of the population of tenure-track accounting faculty. The results of chi-square tests of goodness of ®t con®rm this conclusion Ð the null hypothesis that the respondent group was randomly drawn from the population of interest was not rejected for any of the dimensions across which the two groups were compared. In the cross-sectional phase of our research, we were interested in obtaining information for certain subcategories of the population of 1994 accounting academics. Accordingly, we strati®ed the population by gender (male vs. female) and race (black vs. non-black) and surveyed the entire populations of two subcategories: female and black accounting academics. Female accounting academics were identi®ed using the 1994 Accounting Faculty Directory. We included all tenure-track faculty holding a terminal degree identi®ed as being female by the listed ®rst name. Because the research instrument asks each subject to indicate his or her gender, we were able to eliminate any errors due to gender-neutral ®rst names. Black academics were identi®ed by listings provided by contacts at the National Association of Table 1 Comparison of respondents and population. Survey Group I: academic accountants (10% of the tenuretrack population surveyed)a 1994 Population

1994 Respondents

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

Total

4144

100.0

221

100.0

Gender: Male Female

3373 771

81.4 18.6

187 34

84.6 15.4

Race: Non-blackb Black

4070 74

98.2 1.8

217 4

98.2 1.8

Rank: Chair Professor Associate Assistant

474 1276 1197 1197

11.4 30.8 28.9 28.9

31 76 54 60

14.0 34.4 24.4 27.2

Institution: Research Doctorate granting Other

1124 1180 1840

27.2 28.4 44.4

62 54 105

28.1 24.4 47.5

a

Chi-square tests of goodness of ®t were used to test the null hypotheses that the study respondents were randomly drawn from the populations of interest. These hypotheses were not rejected for any of the dimensions compared. b The non-black category includes all races other than black. Because our questionnaire did not ask respondents to speci®cally identify their race, we are unable to provide reliable information on the breakdown of the various races included in the non-black category.

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Black Accountants (NABA) and the AICPA. We then reviewed both listings and eliminated any educators who had been previously selected in our systematic sample. In 1994, 771 women held tenure-track faculty positions in accounting. Overall, 398 usable responses were received from the women academics, a response rate of 51.6%. To determine how successful we were in obtaining survey respondents that re¯ected the population, we compared our respondents with the population of tenure-track women faculty across race, rank, and university classi®cation. Table 2 provides these results. As Table 2 indicates, the distribution of our women faculty respondent group along the dimensions identi®ed above is very similar to that of the population. A chi-square test of goodness-of-®t was used to test the null hypothesis that our respondent group was randomly drawn from the population of women accounting academics; this hypothesis was not rejected for any of the three dimensions compared. We determined that 77 blacks held tenure-track positions in U.S. colleges and universities in 1994. Survey instruments were sent to 74 of these individuals (we were unable to determine the current aliation of three black educators). Forty-six usable questionnaires were received from this group, resulting in a response rate of 62.2%. Table 2 Comparison of respondents and populations. Survey Group II: female academic accountants (100% of female population surveyed)a 1994 Population Male

1994 Female respondents Female

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

Total

3373

100.0

771

100.0

398

100.0

Race: Non-blackb Black

3331 42

98.7 1.3

739 32

95.8 4.2

379 19

95.2 4.8

Rank: Chair Professor Associate Assistant

409 1172 963 829

12.1 34.7 28.6 24.6

65 104 234 368

8.4 13.5 30.4 47.7

35 53 134 176

8.8 13.3 33.7 44.2

Institution: Research Doctorate Granting Other

942 973 1458

27.9 28.9 43.2

182 207 382

23.6 26.9 49.5

87 120 191

21.9 30.1 48.0

a

Chi-square tests of goodness of ®t were used to test the null hypotheses that the study respondents were randomly drawn from the populations of interest. These hypotheses were not rejected for any of the dimensions compared. b The non-black category includes all races other than black. Because our questionnaire did not ask respondents to speci®cally identify their race, we are unable to provide reliable information on the breakdown of the various races included in the non-black category.

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To test the representativeness of this respondent group, we compared our respondents with the population of black educators along the following dimensions: gender, rank, and university classi®cation of current employer. Table 3 provides the results of this comparison. As Table 3 indicates, our respondent group closely re¯ects the population of black accounting educators in terms of the distribution of academics across gender, rank and university classi®cation. Once again, the results of chi-square goodness-of-®t tests con®rm that our respondents are representative of the population of interest. 2.2. Measures 2.2.1. Need ful®llment Need ful®llment in the workplace was measured using the instrument employed by Carpenter and Strawser (1971) Ð a modi®ed version of the Porter Need Satisfaction

Table 3 Comparison of respondents and population. Survey Group III: black academic accountants (100% of black population surveyed)a 1994 Population Non-blackb

1994 Black respondents

Black

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

Total

4070

100.0

74

100.0

46

100.0

Gender: Male Female

3331 739

81.8 18.2

42 32

56.8 43.2

27 19

58.7 41.3

Rank: Chair Professor Associate Assistant

459 1263 1168 1180

11.3 31.0 28.7 29.0

15 13 29 17

20.3 17.6 39.2 22.9

8 7 20 11

17.4 15.2 43.5 23.9

Institution: Research Doctorate granting Other

1103 1168 1799

27.1 28.7 44.2

21 12 41

28.4 16.2 55.4

15 10 21

32.6 21.8 45.6

a

Chi-square tests of goodness of ®t were used to test the null hypotheses that the study respondents were randomly drawn from the populations of interest. These hypotheses were not rejected for any of the dimensions compared. b The non-black category includes all races other than black. Because our questionnaire did not ask respondents to speci®cally identify their race, we are unable to provide reliable information on the breakdown of the various races included in the non-black category.

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Questionnaire.9 The speci®c Porter instrument used by Carpenter and Strawser (1971) consisted of 13 individual need-related items designed to measure six basic need categories: (1) security, (2) social, (3) esteem, (4) autonomy, (5) self-actualization, and (6) compensation. The basic need categories and individual need-related items within each category are presented in Table 4. Subjects provided three responses for each of the 13 need items. Speci®cally, they answered the following questions using a seven-point scale ranging from minimum (1=none) to maximum (7=maximum amount): 1. How much of the characteristic is there now connected with your position? 2. How much of the characteristic do you think should be connected with your position? 3. How important is this characteristic to you? A measure of perceived ful®llment de®ciency for each need item was obtained by subtracting the numerical response to question (1) from the numerical response to question (2). This ful®llment de®ciency measure re¯ects the respondent's need Table 4 Questionnaire need categories and individual need-related items Security Need The feeling of security in my position Social Needs The opportunity to give assistance to other people in my position The opportunity to develop close associations and friendships in my position Esteem Needs The feeling of self-esteem obtained from my position The prestige of my position within my institution (that is, the regard received from others in the institution) The prestige of my position outside the institution (that is, the regard received from others not in the institution) Autonomy Needs The opportunity for independent thought and action in my position The authority connected with my position The opportunity, in my position, for participation in the setting of goals Self Actualization Needs The opportunity for personal growth and development in my position The feeling of self-ful®llment a person obtains from my position (that is, the feeling of being able to use one's own unique capabilities realizing one's potentialities) The feeling of worthwhile accomplishment in my position Nonspeci®c Item The compensation for my position 9 While numerous measures of need ful®llment have been advanced in the social sciences literature since the time of the Carpenter and Strawser (1971) study, the Porter instrument and its underlying discrepancy/de®ciency notion has continued to provide a measurement basis for job satisfaction (e.g. Adler & Aranya, 1984; Aranya & Ferris, 1984; Aryee, Wyatt, & Min, 1991). A similar measure, the SERVQUAL score (Parasuraman, Zeithaml, & Berry, 1988, 1991), de®nes service quality as the di€erence between perceptions and expectations. Comm and Mathaisel (2000) provide an example of the use of the SERVQUAL scale in a research study focused on measuring employee satisfaction in higher education.

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dissonance level and is subsequently referred to as `dissonance'. Speci®c responses pertaining to actual ful®llment, ideal ful®llment, dissonance, and ful®llment importance for each element included in each of the basic need categories were averaged to develop need-related scores (e.g. responses to the three need-related items identi®ed for esteem needs were averaged to obtain esteem need actual ful®llment, ideal ful®llment, dissonance, and ful®llment importance). As a result, four measures were constructed for each need category. 2.2.2. Academic rank We classi®ed respondents as assistant, associate, full, or chair/head, based upon the subjects' responses in the survey instrument. While rank may not fully capture job-related stress di€erences, assistant professors are likely to face a greater level of stress than do colleagues of a higher rank. Prior research indicates that tenured faculty members are more satis®ed with their jobs than are untenured faculty members (Nussel, Wiersma, & Rusche, 1988; Tack & Patitu, 1992). In addition, Niemann and Dovidio (1998) found academic rank to be a signi®cant predictor of job satisfaction, with full professors reporting the highest levels of job satisfaction and assistant professors reporting the lowest levels. Niemann and Dovidio (1998, p. 58) assert that untenured faculty ``perceive themselves and their productivity to be more salient and under more scrutiny than that of their tenured colleagues''. 2.2.3. Turnover behavior We ascertained respondents' aliation subsequent to 1994 by referencing the 1997 Accounting Faculty Directory. Individuals who were no longer at the institution noted on our 1994 survey were presumed to have left the institution and to have exhibited turnover behavior. 3. Analysis 3.1. Comparison of perceptions A two-step process was used to examine whether need ful®llment within the academic work environment reported by 1994 educators di€ered from that reported in 1970.10 First, a series of simple t-tests compared the 165 responses from the random sample of 1970 educators with the 221 responses from the systematic sample of 1994 educators (i.e. Survey Group I, Table 1). Then, additional t-tests were conducted to determine if di€erences existed by rank (full, associate, and assistant).11 Four measures (actual ful®llment, ideal ful®llment, dissonance, and importance) were examined 10 The raw data from the 1971 study were obtained from Professor Robert H. Strawser, Texas A&M University. 11 A total of 26 respondents in 1970 and 31 respondents in 1994 who either occupied non-tenure-track positions (1970 respondents only) or were department heads (1970 and 1994 respondents) were not included in the analysis by rank. These respondents were not included because they were viewed to be subject to di€erent levels of job-related ful®llment and stress than regular tenure-track faculty.

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for each speci®c need category (security, social, esteem, autonomy, self-actualization, and compensation). Table 5 presents the results of this analysis. Panel A contrasts the responses from 1970 educators with those obtained in 1994. Panel B o€ers

Table 5 Average need ful®lment by survey year and academic rank Panel A: all academics

Panel B: academic rankb

Survey year

Full

1970 Number of respondents 165 Need category Security Actual 5.41 Ideal 5.52 (0.11) De®ciencya Importance 5.01 Social Actual 5.18 Ideal 5.66 De®ciency (0.48) Importance 5.49 Esteem Actual 4.96 Ideal 5.55 De®ciency (0.60) Importance 5.21 Autonomy Actual 4.86 Ideal 5.49 De®ciency (0.64) Importance 5.29 Self-actualization Actual 5.29 Ideal 6.17 De®ciency (0.87) Importance 6.04 Compensation Actual 4.39 Ideal 5.48 De®ciency (1.09) Importance 5.28

Associate

Assistant

1994

1970

1994

1970

1994

1970

1994

221

50

76

54

54

35

60

5.03* 5.34 (0.31) 5.53**

5.78 5.70 0.08 5.14

5.02 5.45** (0.43) 5.40

5.32 5.74 (0.42) 5.63

4.76* 5.30** (0.54) 5.02*

5.74 5.80 (0.07) 5.79**

5.56 5.44 0.11 5.19

5.65 5.17 0.48 5.19

5.23 5.40 (0.17) 4.71

3.53** 4.98 (1.45)** 5.52**

5.09 5.57 (0.49) 5.38

5.18 5.69 (0.52) 5.52

5.08 5.31 (0.23)* 5.19

5.26 5.57 (0.31) 5.36

4.83 5.38 (0.56) 5.33

5.20 5.73 (0.53) 5.48

4.99 5.61 (0.62) 5.34

4.89 5.48 (0.59) 5.11

4.73 5.10* (0.36) 4.72

4.80 5.38 (0.62) 4.98

4.42 5.17 (0.74) 4.92

4.51** 5.32* (0.81)* 5.12*

5.06 5.62 (0.56) 5.43

4.64* 5.47 (0.83) 5.29

4.80 5.40 (0.60) 5.23

4.44 5.19 (0.75) 4.93

4.86 5.48 (0.62) 5.21

4.20** 5.16 (0.96) 5.00

5.01** 5.90** (0.88) 5.82**

5.53 6.17 (0.64) 6.13

5.08* 6.01 (0.93) 5.94

5.01 6.06 (1.05) 5.93

5.01 5.83 (0.82) 5.62

5.49 6.27 (0.77) 6.00

4.66** 5.89** (1.24) 5.89

4.52 5.33 (0.81)* 5.28

4.80 5.62 (0.82) 5.50

4.80 5.62 (0.82) 5.51

4.28 5.50 (1.22) 5.20

4.28 5.17* (0.89) 5.06

4.14 5.29 (1.14) 5.11

4.53 5.17 (0.64)* 5.31

a The average need de®ciency is the mean di€erence between actual and ideal levels of that need category, with slight deviations due to rounding. b A total of 26 respondents in 1970 and 31 respondents in 1994 either occupied non-tenure-track positions (1970 respondents only) or were department heads (1970 and 1994 respondents). These respondents were not included in the analysis by rank. *Mean di€erences signi®cant at p=0.05. **Mean di€erences signi®cant at p=0.01.

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further details by comparing responses by rank. Speci®c elements of job dissonance are discussed below.12 3.1.1. Security and social needs In general, 1994 respondents expressed greater concern with job security than did their 1970 counterparts (Table 5, Panel A). These later respondents indicated that actual ful®llment levels were signi®cantly lower (5.03 versus 5.41), yet they attached greater importance to the ful®llment of the security need (5.53 versus 5.01). Indeed, for 1994 respondents, the importance of job security was exceeded only by that of self-actualization (5.82), while security was considered the least important attribute by 1970 respondents. Perceptions regarding social needs also changed over this same period, with 1994 academics expecting signi®cantly less social ful®llment from their jobs (5.45 versus 5.66). As Panel B of Table 5 indicates, 1994 assistant professors reported signi®cantly lower levels of security need ful®llment (3.53) than did their 1970 counterparts (5.23). A similar di€erence was noted for dissonance pertaining to security needs. Assistant professors, in 1994, reported need dissonance levels of 1.45, well above the level reported by assistant professors in 1970 ( 0.17). In sum, relative to 1970 respondents at the same rank, 1994 assistant professors reported signi®cantly lower ful®llment levels for a need that they viewed as being signi®cantly more important (5.52 versus 4.71). Budgetary constraints, coupled with declining enrollments at many universities, had, as of 1994, lessened demand for new accounting academicians. The 1997 NCES report noted that, in the early 1990s, ``an economic recession coupled with budget de®cits in many states resulted in major cutbacks in state appropriations to higher education'' (US Department of Education, 1997, p. 1). Concurrent with these institutional developments, both enrollment growth in undergraduate accounting programs and the total number of candidates sitting for the Uniform CPA examination began to decline (AICPA, 1996b, p. 17). Lammers and Cummings (1998) note that accounting faculty vacancies also declined during this period, dropping from 7.4% in 1992 to a low of 2.8% in 1995. Only one di€erence in expressed social need dissonance was noted by rank between 1970 and 1994 (Table 5, Panel B). Speci®cally, 1994 associate professors displayed less dissonance regarding the social opportunities a€orded by their work (1970= 0.52 and 1994= 0.23). 3.1.2. Esteem, autonomy and self-actualization needs In comparison to 1970 educators, 1994 respondents reported a statistically signi®cant (p=0.05 or less) decline in the importance attached to meeting esteem (5.02 versus 5.21), autonomy (5.12 versus 5.29), and self-actualization (5.82 versus 6.04) needs within the work environment. In e€ect, tenure-track accounting educators shifted their focus from the ful®llment of higher order needs to the ful®llment of 12

Throughout the text, we have limited our discussion of mean di€erences to those that are signi®cant at the level of p=0.05 or less.

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329

more basic (lower level) needs. However, 1994 accounting academics displayed a tolerance of opportunities similar to that espoused by their colleagues in 1970. Reported dissonance related to the inadequate ful®llment of these higher-level needs remained relatively unchanged from 1970 to 1994, with only the increase in autonomy dissonance being signi®cant ( 0.81 versus 0.64). Accounting educators reported, in 1994, signi®cantly lower expectations for esteem (5.30 versus 5.55), autonomy (5.32 versus 5.49), and self-actualization (5.90 versus 6.17) needs. Similar declines in actual ful®llment levels were also noted (Panel A). Speci®cally, signi®cant declines in the actual levels of esteem (4.76 versus 4.96), autonomy (4.51 versus 4.86), and self-actualization (5.01 versus 5.29) need ful®llment occurred between 1970 and 1994. Thus, the levels of speci®c need dissonance reported in the two surveys may be similar only because the expectations of educators declined as the actual satisfaction from that experience decreased. In other words, while the acceptance of reality may be invariant, the underlying reality appears to have changed. 3.1.3. Compensation needs Job dissonance has been reduced in only a single area since 1970 Ð that of compensation (1994= 0.81 versus 1970= 1.09). As Panel B indicates, this reduction in dissonance was experienced only by assistant professors (1994= 0.64 versus 1970= 1.14). Similar di€erences were not noted between periods among associate or full professors. 3.2. Cross-sectional analysis Ð job perceptions of 1994 academics To obtain a greater understanding of the job dissonance levels reported by academics in 1994, we performed a series of t-tests to determine whether the need ful®llment of 1994 respondents di€ers as a function of race or gender.13 Speci®cally, individual t-tests were used to test for statistically signi®cant di€erences in actual and ideal levels of need ful®llment, need dissonance, and perceived importance for the six speci®c need categories. Comparisons of the perceived need ful®llment of 1994 respondents by race and gender are provided in Table 6. 3.2.1. Race No statistically signi®cant di€erences in reported job dissonance existed along racial lines for the need categories examined. Black academics were no more or no less satis®ed than their non-black colleagues. Our results indicate, however, that several di€erences did exist between black and non-black academics in terms of both actual and ideal levels of speci®c needs. Further, black academics attached greater importance to the ful®llment of certain needs than did their non-black colleagues. 13 An earlier comparison of responses using univariate analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests indicated that there were no signi®cant interactions between the race and gender variables. Thus, we are able to compare respondents independently across race and gender lines without concern about confounding e€ects.

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Relative to other races represented in our samples (i.e. our non-black respondent group), black academics displayed signi®cantly higher expectations regarding the levels of security (5.72 versus 5.32), social (5.78 versus 5.44), esteem (5.62 versus 5.24), autonomy (5.48 versus 5.25), and compensation (5.91 versus 5.28) need satisfaction that should be associated with their positions. That is, black academic accountants generally expected greater ful®llment from their work. In addition, for the esteem (5.32 versus 4.99), autonomy (5.45 versus 5.07), self-actualization (6.16 versus 5.89), and compensation (5.72 versus 5.19) need categories, black tenure-track Table 6 Average need ful®llment by race and gender Race

Number of respondents Need category Security Actual Ideal De®ciencya Importance Social Actual Ideal De®ciency Importance Esteem Actual Ideal De®ciency Importance Autonomy Actual Ideal De®ciency Importance Self-actualization Actual Ideal De®ciency Importance Compensation Actual Ideal De®ciency Importance a

Gender

Black

Non-black

Female

Male

46

564

398

212

5.10 5.72 (0.61) 5.63

4.86 5.32** (0.41) 5.50

4.72 5.23 (0.51) 5.49

5.18** 5.45** (0.26) 5.56

5.31 5.78 (0.43) 5.55

5.04 5.44** (0.39) 5.34

5.05 5.45 (0.40) 5.38

5.10 5.47 (0.38) 5.30

5.21 5.62 (0.39) 5.32

4.71** 5.24** (0.53) 4.99**

4.68 5.23 (0.55) 4.99

4.87** 5.36* (0.48) 5.08

4.75 5.48 (0.73) 5.45

4.40* 5.25* (0.85) 5.07**

4.37 5.23 (0.86) 5.06

4.54* 5.35* (0.81) 5.17

5.22 6.11 (0.88) 6.16

4.99 5.92 (0.92) 5.89*

5.00 5.93 (0.94) 5.94

5.04 5.92 (0.88) 5.83

4.87 5.91 (1.04) 5.72

4.53* 5.28** (0.75) 5.19**

4.53 5.26 (0.72) 5.14

4.60 5.46** (0.86) 5.38**

The average need de®ciency is the mean di€erence between actual and ideal levels of that need category, with slight deviations due to rounding. *Mean di€erences signi®cant at p=0.05. **Mean di€erences signi®cant at p=0.01.

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331

accounting educators attached signi®cantly greater importance to obtaining ful®llment than did their non-black colleagues. Black academics also reported experiencing higher levels of actual need ful®llment in many speci®c categories considered in our study; however, this higher level of achievement was only signi®cantly di€erent for the esteem (5.21 versus 4.71), autonomy (4.75 versus 4.40), and compensation (4.87 versus 4.53) need categories. Because their higher expectations were accompanied by higher levels of actual attainment, black academics reported the same level of need dissonance as did their non-black colleagues for all need categories investigated. 3.2.2. Gender No statistically signi®cant di€erences in job dissonance were noted between genders. Similar to race, however, several o€setting attitudinal di€erences exist along gender lines in both the espoused actual and ideal levels of need ful®llment. Male academics reported a signi®cantly higher level of actual security (5.18 versus 4.72), esteem (4.87 versus 4.68), and autonomy (4.54 versus 4.37) need ful®llment from their work than did female academics. Similarly, males indicated that they expected signi®cantly higher levels of security (5.45 versus 5.23), esteem (5.36 versus 5.23) and autonomy (5.35 versus 5.23) need ful®llment. Relative to their female colleagues, male academics expected a signi®cantly higher level of compensation (5.46 versus 5.26) and attached signi®cantly higher importance to the attainment of this workrelated need (5.38 versus 5.14). 3.3. Prediction of turnover behavior Ð a consequence of job dissonance A multivariate logistic regression model, which included rank, gender, and the six need dissonance categories as independent variables and the discrete variable, turnover, as the dependent variable, was used to examine whether job dissonance, as measured in our study, provides an underlying reason for faculty turnover.14 Responses from the systematic sample of 1994 academics (221 respondents) were used for this analysis. Table 7 contains the results of the logistic regression. Panel A presents the speci®cs of the regression model for the entire sample of academics; Panels B±D present details by rank.15 14 Other possible reasons for faculty turnover include: (1) extended or nuclear family-related reasons, such as issues with parents or spouse-related issues; (2) personal reasons, such as poor health; and (3) the arrival of an alternative opportunity a€ording signi®cant improvement in terms of money or job duties. 15 Unlike prior studies, in which the dependent variable represents either the `intent' to change employment or an ex-post determination, this study makes an ex-ante prediction of turnover behavior by modeling the turnover behavior recorded by 1997 as a predictive function of the level of dissonance espoused in 1994. As a result, we are concerned with the overall signi®cance of the logistic model and the individual coecients as well as the model's overall classi®cation accuracy. Using a contingency table in which the predicted values for each respondent are compared with the actual observed outcomes, this classi®cation accuracy is compared to the classi®cation accuracy of a naõÈve model to determine the logistic model's utility. The cuto€ point for predicting the classi®cation category (0 or 1) is selected to maximize overall classi®cation accuracy and minimize type I errors, as measured by the percentage of respondents who were predicted to remain with their respective institutions but did not.

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Table 7 Turnover behavior Ð 1994 academics: results of logistic regression regarding predicted versus actual turnover Variable

B coecient

Panel A: all academics (n=221) Rank Gender Need de®ciencya Security Social Esteem Autonomy Self-actualization Compensation Constant -2 Log likelihood Goodness-of-®t Model chi-square Signi®cance of model Overall model accuracy NaõÈve model Type I error (Percent Correct)

Wald statistic

Signifcance

0.145 1.115

0.162 0.466

0.800 5.721

0.371 0.017

0.334 0.557 0.251 0.148 0.211 0.481 0.709

0.1351 0.268 0.309 0.188 0.227 0.200 0.626

6.099 4.310 0.659 0.619 0.863 5.800 1.281

0.013 0.038 0.417 0.431 0.353 0.016 0.258

2.061

1.082

3.626

0.057

0.412 0.790 0.502 0.013 0.373 0.381 0.055

0.323 0.411 0.548 0.219 0.519 0.437 1.196

1.622 3.696 0.841 0.004 0.515 0.760 0.002

0.203 0.055 0.359 0.951 0.473 0.383 0.963

2.161

1.420

2.315

0.128

0.590 0.478 2.629 1.091 0.153 1.274 1.655

0.593 1.113 1.509 1.007 0.296 1.186 1.144

0.989 0.184 3.034 1.172 0.269 1.154 2.095

0.320 0.668 0.082 0.279 0.604 0.283 0.148

183.02 315.84 45.70 0.000 0.783 0.787 0.638

Panel B: full professors (n=76) Gender Need de®ciencya Security Social Esteem Autonomy Self-actualization Compensation Constant -2 Log likelihood Goodness-of-®t Model chi-square Signi®cance of model Overall model accuracy NaõÈve model Type I error (percent correct)

Standard error

62.18 83.76 13.32 0.065 0.790 0.803 0.600

Panel C: associate professors (n=54) Gender Need de®ciencya Security Social Esteem Autonomy Self-actualization Compensation Constant

(Table continued on next page).

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Table 7 (continued) Variable -2 Log liklihood Goodness-of-®t Model chi-square Signi®cance of model Overall model accuracy NaõÈve model Type I error (percent correct)

B coecient

Wald statistic

Signifcance

0.439

0.887

0.245

0.621

0.132 0.050 1.334 1.465 0.117 0.498 1.580

0.251 0.503 0.687 0.682 0.600 0.401 1.023

0.277 0.010 3.774 4.611 0.038 1.541 2.385

0.599 0.921 0.052 0.032 0.845 0.215 0.122

21.33 24.80 7.19 0.410 0.907 0.926 0.500

Panel D: assistant professors (n=60) Gender Need de®ciencya Security Social Esteem Autonomy Self-actualization Compensation Constant -2 Log likelihood Goodness-of-®t Model chi-square Signi®cance of model Overall model accuracy NaõÈve model Type I error (percent correct)

Standard error

55.372 53.515 27.20 0.001 0.750 0.550 0.778

a The average need de®ciency is the mean di€erence between actual and ideal levels of that need category, with slight deviations due to rounding.

Regression results indicate that need dissonance may, in certain cases, provide a signal that turnover is being considered. Speci®cally, a temporal relationship exists between espoused need dissonance and turnover behavior, particularly among assistant professors (Table 7, Panel D). The logistic regression model for these educators o€ers the highest classi®cation accuracy (75%, where the naõÈve model=55%). Further, only six of 27 educators who subsequently changed positions were erroneously classi®ed, resulting in a type I error rate of 22%. Table 8 provides some descriptive statistics regarding espoused need ful®llment di€erences between the 47 educators who subsequently left their 1994 institutions and the 174 academicians who remained at their 1994 institutions in 1997. Panel A (Table 8) contains the responses of the entire 1994 systematic sample. Panel B summarizes need-ful®llment di€erences by rank. Overall, the results presented in Panel A indicate that respondents who exhibited turnover behavior during the 1995 or 1996 academic year expressed dissonance in almost all need categories in 1994. With the single exception of the compensation category, espoused job dissonance was signi®cantly greater for those academicians

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who later moved to new positions than for those who stayed at their 1994 institutions. Apparently, it is the existence of unful®lled psychological needs that motivates job changes; compensation does not appear to play a signi®cant role. The comparison of espoused dissonance across ranks, depicted in Panel B (Table 8), highlights the pattern observed in the logistic regressions among junior faculty members. Assistant professors who left their 1994 employer universities Table 8 Average need ful®llment by subsequent turnover behavior

Number of respondents Need category Security Actual Ideal De®ciencya Importance Social Actual Ideal De®ciency Importance Esteem Actual Ideal De®ciency Importance Autonomy Actual Ideal De®ciency Importance Self-actualization Actual Ideal De®ciency Importance Compensation Actual Ideal De®ciency Importance

Panel A: all academics

Panel B: academic rankb

Turnover behavior

Full

Associate

Moved

Stayed

Moved Stayed

Moved Stayed Moved Stayed

47

174

15

61

4 5.75 4.75 1.00 4.50

Assistant

50

27

33

5.64 5.20 0.44 5.24

2.67 4.89 (2.22) 5.78

4.24** 5.06 (0.82)** 5.30

3.79 5.09 (1.30) 5.55

5.36** 5.40 (0.05)** 5.52

5.27 5.60 (0.33) 5.60

5.85 5.85 (0.00) 5.84

4.45 5.38 (0.94) 5.85

5.17** 5.47 (0.29)** 5.28*

4.53 5.50 (0.97) 5.60

5.22** 5.25 5.59 5.63 (0.37)** (0.38) 5.32 5.38

5.07 5.29 (0.22) 5.17

4.26 5.28 (1.02) 5.35

5.21** 5.52 (0.30)** 5.36

4.33 5.28 (0.95) 5.02

4.88** 5.30 (0.43)** 5.02

4.91 5.49 (0.58) 5.38

5.01 5.62 (0.61) 5.33

5.17 5.75 (0.58) 5.00

4.70 5.05 (0.35) 4.69

3.88 5.11 (1.23) 4.85

4.86** 5.21 (0.34)** 4.97

4.11 5.34 (1.23) 5.22

4.62* 5.31 (0.69)** 5.09

4.78 5.42 (0.64) 5.47

4.78 5.49 (0.71) 5.25

5.42 5.92 (0.50) 5.50

4.37 5.13 (0.77) 4.88

3.58 5.22 (1.64) 5.09

4.71** 5.11 (0.40)** 4.93

4.40 5.91 (1.52) 5.95

5.18** 5.89 (0.71)** 5.78

4.82 5.98 (1.16) 6.16

5.14 6.03 (0.89) 5.89

5.50 6.33 (0.83) 5.83

5.33 5.82 (0.49) 5.61

4.00 5.85 (1.85) 5.91

5.24** 5.89 (0.64)** 5.84

4.45 5.17 (0.72) 5.19

4.53 5.37 (0.84) 5.30

4.73 5.33 (0.60) 5.27

4.82 5.69 (0.87) 5.57

4.50 5.00 (0.50) 4.50

4.26 5.18 (0.92) 5.10

4.33 5.11 (0.78) 5.30

4.67 5.18 (0.52) 5.21

a The average need de®ciency is the mean di€erence between actual and ideal levels of that need category, with slight deviations due to rounding. b A total of 31 respondents in 1994 were department heads. Of these, only one respondent left his or her 1994 institution. *Mean di€erences signi®cant at p=0.05. **Mean di€erences signi®cant at p=0.01.

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expressed signi®cantly greater dissonance with all aspects of their positions except compensation (security= 2.22; social= 1.02; esteem= 1.23; autonomy= 1.64; self-actualization= 1.85) than did assistant professors who remained at their 1994 institutions in 1997 (security= 0.82; social= 0.30; esteem= 0.34; autonomy= 0.40; self-actualization= 0.64). 4. Summary, limitations and conclusions 4.1. Summary Our ®ndings indicate that there was a decline in the overall level of job-related satisfaction experienced by accounting academics from 1970 to 1994. Reported dissonance related to the ful®llment of most of the job-related needs examined, however, was relatively unchanged. Analysis of our results indicates that, in most cases, the failure to ®nd di€erences in dissonance across the two time periods studied is explained by the fact that expectations of educators decreased in conjunction with a decline in actual satisfaction levels. Declines in satisfaction were particularly pronounced for assistant professors, who are likely to be more seriously a€ected by changes in the job market for accounting academics and who, because they are in the early stages of their careers, may be more sensitive to the increasing demands placed on accounting faculty. This ®nding is consistent with other studies reporting that job satisfaction increases linearly with age and/or job tenure (Locke et al., 1983; Niemann & Dovidio, 1998; Nussel et al., 1988; Tack & Patitu, 1992). We also ®nd that the priorities of accounting educators shifted from 1970 to 1994. Contrary to the hierarchy hypothesized by Maslow (1943, 1954), but consistent with the theories of Salancik and Pfe€er (1977), security was more important to 1994 academics while other job-related needs (esteem, autonomy, and self-actualization) had become less salient. Given the changes in the academic job market that occurred between 1970 and 1994, these ®ndings are not unexpected. While we now know that the job market for accounting educators recovered shortly after 1994, our respondents may not have been con®dent that such a reversal would occur. No di€erences in job dissonance based on race or gender were noted among the 1994 respondents. However, black academics and males reported both higher expectations and the actual achievement of greater levels of need ful®llment. Perhaps black accounting educators bene®ted psychologically from the severely limited supply of blacks holding terminal degrees in 1994. Blacks who have overcome the ®nancial barriers and entered the academic profession may be keenly aware that their services are in high demand by academic institutions. Thus, 1994 black academics may have expected more from their profession and may have obtained more despite the reduced market demand for other accounting PhDs that existed at that time. Similarly, tradition or culture may possibly have caused men, regardless of race, to expect more and to actually ful®ll more needs through their work experiences than do women. Prior literature (Dalton et al., 1997; Holtzman & Glass, 1999;

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Reed & Kratchman, 1990) suggests that certain familial duties may be more likely to fall upon females than males. Regardless of race or gender, however, expressed dissonance begets actual turnover behavior, particularly among assistant professors. Thus, expressions of dissonance or dissatisfaction on the part of an assistant professor may o€er a clear warning of subsequent movement. Although failure to receive tenure o€ers an equal, if not more important, reason why certain educators abandon their positions, voluntary turnover still occurs and can have important consequences for the vacated department. First, less satis®ed faculty, regardless of whether they ultimately exit voluntarily or involuntarily, might prove to be less e€ective researchers and less motivating teachers prior to their exit.16 In addition, voluntary turnover may hurt a department's reputation, making it more dicult for that department to recruit new faculty. Further, even though involuntary turnover may bene®t the vacated department in the long-term, in the short-term that department may have to use less-quali®ed faculty to teach courses and likely will incur higher salary costs to hire a replacement. Thus, the overall productivity of the vacated department may be harmed in the short-run by both voluntary and involuntary turnover. 4.2. Limitations The population of black tenure-track accounting academics was identi®ed using lists obtained from contacts at NABA and the AICPA, which we were assured were complete. We had, however, no practical method of verifying that every black tenuretrack accounting academic was included in these rosters. Our results for the race variable are subject to bias if these lists exclude black tenure-track accounting academics whose perceptions or experiences di€er from those of our black respondents. Secondly, our instrument was not anonymous. Nevertheless, we assured our respondents, both on the face of the instrument and in the cover letter, that all answers and comments would be strictly con®dential and that responses would be used only in developing statistical tables. Finally, as is the case in most research e€orts, our interpretations of di€erences in the levels of need ful®llment and dissonance reported by various respondent groups might be regarded as speculative. Future research is needed to isolate and identify the speci®c causes of observed changes in job satisfaction and to establish whether a link exists between an instructor's job satisfaction and the quality of his or her job performance. 4.3. Conclusions Assuming that our results re¯ect an actual decline in satisfaction levels of tenuretrack accounting educators between 1970 and 1994, what implications does this 16

Although no empirical studies have established a link between an instructor's job satisfaction and the quality of his or her teaching performance, Tack and Patitu (1992, p. xvii) argue that in higher education, where faculty have considerable discretion over how they spend their time, job dissatisfaction can result in an enormous decrease in all aspects of performance quality.

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®nding have for current accounting academics? First, our results show that relative to 1970 academics, 1994 tenure-track accounting educators were more concerned with job security and considered this need to be second in importance only to selfactualization. While the current job market demand for academic accountants is greater than it was in 1994, issues of job security are likely to remain salient in light of the recent attention focused on the tenure process and the initiatives undertaken by some schools in implementing post-tenure review or replacing tenure with a system of `rolling contracts' (Johnson & Kelley, 1998; Whitehead, Grider, Pritchard, & Spikes, 1998). In addition, untenured faculty should be concerned about the future changes in demand that might result from recent declines in accounting program enrollments. Accordingly, e€orts to improve the satisfaction of accounting educators should be directed at enhancing both the perception and reality of job security. Because female accounting academics reported lower levels of security need ful®llment, these actions should be especially bene®cial for them. Higher level job-related needs must also be addressed. Our ®ndings indicate that dissonance associated with esteem and autonomy needs is positively related to turnover among assistant professors. Moreover, we found this relationship to exist in a relatively tight job market. If dissonance leads to turnover in a period in which relatively few opportunities are available, it is reasonable to assume that an even stronger relationship might exist in periods when opportunities abound. Thus, those interested in reducing turnover must ®nd ways and implement means of increasing faculty perceptions of the prestige and autonomy associated with their work. While it may be argued that teaching excellence provides its own intrinsic rewards, educational institutions must provide academics with creative ¯exibility and the support necessary to realize their teaching goals. Excellence in performance of all aspects of the job (teaching, research, and service) should be recognized and rewarded. Because black tenure-track accounting educators attach a higher priority to achieving need satisfaction in the areas of esteem, autonomy and self-actualization, enhancing these higher-order need ful®llment levels is particularly important to the objective of creating and maintaining a racially diverse faculty. Reducing job dissonance is arguably more important in today's environment, where PhD enrollments are declining and accounting faculty members enjoy a greater number of opportunities. This job market requires that universities make a greater investment in new faculty hires by paying top-dollar salaries and providing attractive research support packages. Taking steps to reduce or eliminate job dissonance can help to reduce turnover and protect the signi®cant investment made in faculty. Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank Robert Strawser for the use of his 1970 data. We also extend our special thanks to Mr. Bert Mitchell, of Mitchell, Titus and Co., CPAs, for providing assistance in identifying the population of black accounting academics. Finally, we wish to acknowledge the assistance of the editor and two anonymous reviewers.

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