Self-serving attributions in corporate annual reports: a replicated study

摘要

This study is a replication of Bettman and Weitz(1983)in the Singapore context. Data from Letters to Shareholders in 208 annual reports published in 1985 and 1994 were used to analyse the patterns of causal explanations for corporate per- formance outcomes. The general self-serving pattern of attributions found in the original study was also identified in this study. However, the data of the original study do not unequivocally support either the motivational or information expla- nation for the existence of self-serving attributions, whereas the latter explanation is strongly supported by the data of this study.