variablesTo manipulate the first independent variable, type ofincentive scheme, participants in the formula-based incen-tive scheme (“formula-based scheme”) treatment weretold that, for the purpose of monthly performance eval-uation, explicit weights were assigned to each of the fourperformance areas (25% each).5The weighted rating wasthen used as a basis for determining monthly bonuses.Further, the supervisor was not allowed any subjectiv-ity or flexibility in the weighting process. In contrast,participants in the subjective incentive scheme (“sub-jective scheme”) treatment were told that no explicitweights were assigned to each performance area, and thattheir supervisor was allowed the flexibility to make asubjective judgement on their performance rating basedon their overall achievements on these four areas (seeFig. 1).For the second independent variable, we manipulatedwhether the communication of the strategic value ofHIA via a strategy map is present or absent. Consis-tent with prior literature such as Banker et al. (2004),we provided participants in the “HIA communicationpresent” treatment with a diagram illustrating the link-ages between Alpha Consulting’s strategic objectives;whereas the diagram was omitted in the “HIA commu-nication absent” treatment. Specifically, participants inthe “HIA communication present” treatment received adiagram (i.e. a simple strategy map) explicating howthe actions of the consultants at Alpha Consulting cancreate firm value, for example, by building the firm’sand their expertise (see Fig. 2). Because the interest ofthe current study lies in the effect of communicatingto employees the links between the firm’s HIA and itsultimate goal of increasing fee revenue, we provided par-ticipants with a very basic strategy map that fulfils thisrole.6The strategy map was also carefully designed to ensurethat the importance of HIA was highlighted but withoutexplicitly referring to knowledge-sharing and extra-rolebehaviours. Further, the strategic objectives shown in the