Date Approved

11-16-2015

Date Posted

6-23-2016

Degree Type

Open Access Thesis

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department or School

College of Technology

Committee Member

John Dugger, Ph.D., Chair

Committee Member

Sean Xiangdong Che, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Ali Eydgahi, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Huei Lee, Ph.D

Abstract

This study sought to understand a user's perspective on the level of influence that internal controls had on the levels of trust, employee engagement, employee performance, and organization performance. The relationship between the level of implementation of internal controls with the level of trust that employees have for their employer, employee engagement, employee performance, and organization performance has not been adequately explored. The study was conducted on users who worked in organizations that implemented Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) internal controls, and these organizations strictly maintain all of their information in digital format. About nine hundred users were targeted from COSO implemented small intensive information-technology organizations in southeastern Michigan. The influence that COSO Internal Controls have on the levels of trust, organization performance, employee performance, and employee engagement was explored.

The findings revealed that a significant positive relationship existed between the degree of implementation of internal controls and participant-reported organization performance. It was also found that there was a significant positive relationship between the level of implementation of internal controls and the level of trust an employee has for his/her employer. Further, it was found that the level of implementation of internal controls has a significant positive relationship with both employee engagement and employee self-reported performance. This study also determined that there was a significant positive relationship between the level of trust an employee has towards the employer and employee engagement in small businesses. One implication of this study is that private-information technology-intensive organizations should consider implementing a system of internal controls such as the COSO system.

It is recommended that future research efforts focus on understanding internal controls interrelated components such as control environment, risk assessment, control activities, information and communication, and monitoring to determine which component has more influence on the level of trust that an employee has regarding his/her employer, employee engagement, employee performance, and organization performance.

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