Stakeholder theory research identifies changes in language as one possible mechanism to overcome the deficiencies of current accounting practices with regard to social aspects. This study aims to examine the effects of the terms used for specific accounts on company internal decision-making, drawing on the example of “value creation accounting”.,The study uses a survey based-experiment to analyze the effects of terms used for specific accounts on decision-making, with a focus on social aspects (in particular expenditures for staff) in cost reduction and expenditure decisions.,The findings indicate that wordings, which more closely relate to value creation than to costs, decrease cost reductions and increase the priority ascribed to the social aspect of reducing staff costs in times of financial shortage. The effects of terms used on cost reductions are stronger among female decision makers.,The analysis suggests that conventional accounting language best suits organizations that aim at incentivizing decision makers to primarily cut costs. By contrast, if an organization follows an approach that puts importance on social aspects in times of financial shortage and on not doing too sharp cost reductions, value creation-oriented language is the more effective approach.,The study suggests that the specific terminology used for accounts should be chosen more carefully and with awareness for the possible effects on cost reduction decisions as well as on social consequences.,This study contributes to a better understanding of the relevance of language in accounting. It suggests that the terms used for accounts should be chosen purposefully because of their far-reaching potential consequences for stakeholders as well as for the organization.

中文翻译：

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语言的隐藏力量

利益相关者理论研究将语言的变化确定为克服当前会计实践在社会方面的缺陷的一种可能机制。本研究旨在以“价值创造会计”为例，检验特定账户所用术语对公司内部决策的影响。本研究采用基于调查的实验来分析特定账户所用术语对公司内部决策的影响。决策的帐户，重点关注成本削减和支出决策中的社会方面（特别是员工支出）。调查结果表明，与价值创造而非成本相关的措辞，减少了成本削减，并增加了优先考虑在资金短缺时降低员工成本的社会方面。女性决策者使用的术语对降低成本的影响更大。分析表明，传统会计语言最适合旨在激励决策者主要削减成本的组织。相比之下，如果一个组织遵循一种在财务短缺时期重视社会方面的方法，并且不会大幅削减成本，那么以价值创造为导向的语言是更有效的方法。研究表明，用于应更谨慎地选择账户，并了解对成本降低决策和社会后果的可能影响。本研究有助于更好地理解会计语言的相关性。