Need for achievement, style of budgeting and managerial performance in a non government organization (NGO): evidence from an oriental culture

Abstract

While there has been considerable research on employee performance-related impact of budgeting style, the research is mostly concentrated within manufacturing organizations in the West. There is a dearth of such research (i) in other types of organizations such as non-government organizations and (ii) in other than Western cultures. In this light, the present study was conducted in a non-government organization (NGO) operating in Bangladesh - a country of oriental culture. NGOs are private organizations that pursue activities to relieve suffering, promote interests of the poor, protect the environment, provide basic social services, and undertake community developments (Operational Directive 14.70, World Bank). NGOs are typically value-based organizations, which depend in whole or in part, on charitable donations and voluntary services. An NGO in Bangladesh generally starts as a donor funded enterprise with the aim of creating sustainable employment opportunities for, and eradicating poverty as well as illiteracy of, the poor within the country. Thus, NGOs in Bangladesh are critically important non-government organizations for the country's employment and economic growth. The participants in the study were 114 field officers (managers) having budgetary responsibilities in a large NGO in Bangladesh. This study focused on investigating if the managers' need for achievement and the NGO's budgeting style had an impact on their performance. The results reveal that the budgeting style acted as an intervening variable in the relationship between field officers' need for achievement and performance. The results also indicate that the performance-related impact of a budgeting style is independent of culture.