This paper contributes to the limited empirical enquiries into the role of accounting in affecting medical professionals’ financial accountability perceptions and related outcomes and performance. It examines the associations among formal and informal feedback processes, managers’ financial accountability, work attitudes, and performance. Results of our survey to a sample of 115 senior medical managers in an Italian hospital reveal that the association between performance feedback sources and managerial performance depends on managers’ felt accountability and commitment. Further, we find that commitment bridges the link between accountability and managerial performance. Our findings provide two useful insights for healthcare management. First, healthcare managers should improve the technical features of the formal performance feedback practices to update medical managers on their goals in a timely and useful manner. Second, healthcare managers should encourage unplanned, spontaneous, and voluntary social interactions to enhance the positive effects of informal feedback. To sum up, our research adds to the limited knowledge of the accountability and performance literature using data from the actual setting and subjects of concern.

中文翻译：

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医疗管理者的财务责任：反馈对工作成果和管理绩效的影响

本文有助于对会计在影响医疗专业人员的财务责任感以及相关结果和绩效方面的作用进行有限的实证调查。它考察了正式和非正式反馈过程、经理的财务责任、工作态度和绩效之间的关联。我们对一家意大利医院的 115 名高级医疗管理人员的抽样调查结果表明，绩效反馈来源与管理绩效之间的关联取决于管理人员的责任感和承诺。此外，我们发现承诺弥合了问责制和管理绩效之间的联系。我们的研究结果为医疗保健管理提供了两个有用的见解。第一的，医疗保健管理人员应改进正式绩效反馈实践的技术特征，以便及时有效地更新医疗管理人员的目标。其次，医疗保健管理者应鼓励无计划、自发和自愿的社会互动，以增强非正式反馈的积极影响。总而言之，我们的研究使用来自实际环境和关注主题的数据增加了对问责制和绩效文献的有限知识。