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The Dispersion of Employees' Wage Increases and Firm Performance

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  • Christian Grund
  • Niels Westergaard-Nielsen

Abstract

Previous studies examining intra-firm wage dispersion and firm performance have focused on wage levels. The authors of this study argue that for purposes of comparing wage dispersion's positive incentive effects with its adverse morale effects, the dispersion of wage increases is more revealing than the dispersion of wage levels. It is reasonable to expect greater dispersion of wage increases to be associated with higher monetary incentives, but also with increased perceptions of unfairness. The authors' analysis of linked employer-employee data from Denmark for the years 1992-97 shows that the dispersion of wage growth within firms generally had a negative association with firm performance. The results are mainly driven by white-collar rather than blue-collar workers, perhaps because blue-collar wages are typically regulated by contracts and union rules that explicitly take account of fairness and equity.

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Article provided by ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School in its journal ILR Review.

Volume (Year): 61 (2008)
Issue (Month): 4 (July)
Pages: 485-501

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Handle: RePEc:ilr:articl:v:61:y:2008:i:4:p:485-501

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References

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Citations

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Cited by:
  1. R Simmons & D J Berri, 2010. "Mixing the princes and the paupers: Pay and performance in the National Basketball Association," Working Papers 611523, Lancaster University Management School, Economics Department.
  2. Simon Gächter & Daniele Nosenzo & Martin Sefton, 2012. "The Impact of Social Comparisons on Reciprocity," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 114(4), pages 1346-1367, December.
  3. Kampelmann, Stephan & Rycx, Francois, 2012. "The Impact of Educational Mismatch on Firm Productivity: Evidence from Linked Panel Data," IZA Discussion Papers 7093, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
  4. Benoît Mahy & François Rycx & Mélanie Volral, 2011. "Does Wage Dispersion Make All Firms Productive?," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 58(4), pages 455-489, 09.
  5. Gabriel Burdin, 2012. "Does workers’ control affect firm survival? Evidence from Uruguay," Documentos de Trabajo (working papers) 12-06, Instituto de Economia - IECON.
  6. repec:dul:wpaper:2013/89489 is not listed on IDEAS
  7. Kampkötter, Patrick & Sliwka, Dirk, 2011. "Differentiation and Performance: An Empirical Investigation on the Incentive Effects of Bonus Plans," IZA Discussion Papers 6070, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
  8. Gächter, Simon & Thöni, Christian, 2010. "Social comparison and performance: Experimental evidence on the fair wage-effort hypothesis," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 76(3), pages 531-543, December.
  9. Simmons, Rob & Berri, David J., 2011. "Mixing the princes and the paupers: Pay and performance in the National Basketball Association," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(3), pages 381-388, June.
  10. Egon Franck & Stephan Nüesch, 2007. "Wage Dispersion and Team Performance - An Empirical Panel Analysis," Working Papers 0017, University of Zurich, Center for Research in Sports Administration (CRSA).
  11. Nils Braakmann, 2008. "Intra-firm wage inequality and firm performance – First evidence from German linked employer-employee-data," Working Paper Series in Economics 77, University of Lüneburg, Institute of Economics.
  12. Burdín, Gabriel, 2012. "Does workers' control affect firm survival? Evidence from Uruguay," AICCON Working Papers 108-2012, Associazione Italiana per la Cultura della Cooperazione e del Non Profit.
  13. Martin, Pardupa, 2007. "Cooperation or rivalry? Employee’s effort and appropriate knowledge distribution as key elements for maximizing the profit of the firm," MPRA Paper 26428, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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