ChatGPT, a language-learning model chatbot, has garnered considerable attention for its ability to respond to users’ questions. Using data from 14 countries and 186 institutions, we compare ChatGPT and student performance for 28,085 questions from accounting assessments and textbook test banks. As of January 2023, ChatGPT provides correct answers for 56.5 percent of questions and partially correct answers for an additional 9.4 percent of questions. When considering point values for questions, students significantly outperform ChatGPT with a 76.7 percent average on assessments compared to 47.5 percent for ChatGPT if no partial credit is awarded and 56.5 percent if partial credit is awarded. Still, ChatGPT performs better than the student average for 15.8 percent of assessments when we include partial credit. We provide evidence of how ChatGPT performs on different question types, accounting topics, class levels, open/closed assessments, and test bank questions. We also discuss implications for accounting education and research.
Purpose
This study aims to examine whether the pay gap between the chief executive officer (CEO) and non-executive employees affects the firm’s research and development (R&D) efficiency.
Design/methodology/approach
The dependent variable is the firm’s R&D efficiency, defined as a percentage increase in revenue from a 1-per cent increase in R&D spending. The main independent variable is the CEO-employee pay gap, defined as the ratio of annual total compensation for the CEO to the average of non-executive employees of the firm. The authors estimate fixed-effects models to examine the association between R&D efficiency and the pay gap between CEO and non-executive employees.
Findings
Results indicate a negative and significant association between R&D efficiency and CEO-employee pay gap, which suggests that a wider pay gap reduces employee motivation and effort, consistent with pay equity theory. We also find that the CEO-employee pay gap negatively moderates the relationship between employee pay growth and R&D efficiency
Research limitations/implications
Recently enacted pay gap disclosure requirements mandated by the Dodd-Frank Act will make the disparity between CEO and non-executive compensation more salient. This study provides evidence of a firm outcome associated with that disparity.
Originality/value
This study is among the first to investigate the impact of the pay gap on R&D efficiency, a firm outcome not previously explored in the literature. This study also investigates CEO-employee pay gap’s role as a factor that moderates the effects of employee pay growth and institutional ownership on R&D efficiency
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