The self-serving bias effect in the business environment: Examining shared attributes in annual reports

Abstract

This research study sought to shape the topic's body of knowledge through a quantitative analysis of how much the self-serving attribute impinges upon U.S. publicly traded corporations. The study replicated previous literature applying quantitative analysis and significance testing on self-serving bias in publicly traded organizations. Maintaining tendencies of positivism influenced in the epistemological assumption, previous studies sampled populations from publicly traded companies in order to test self-serving attributes in shareholder letters and annual reports. Compared to previous studies, this study modernized legacy literature with the focus on U.S. publicly traded companies post-Sarbanes–Oxley legislation. To approach the study of self-serving bias in modern business leadership, the research study incorporated attribution theory to explore how individuals attribute causes to events. The theory focuses on individuals predisposed to see cause-effect relationships in their own actions as well as concern to attribute actions internally and externally. Applying the theory to this study provided insight into hypotheses ranging from company size to industry.