Bonuszahlungen an Manager. Eine Szenarienanalyse zu Gerechtigkeitsurteilen

With regard to salaries and bonuses for managers in Germany, it is often criticised that high wages and in particular bonus payments, particularly in larger companies, are disproportionately large compared to the performance and responsibilities of a single manager. Against this background, the article investigates the circumstances under which bonus payments for managers are judged to be just or unjust. The article draws upon theoretical approaches of organisational justice. We use data from a representative telephone survey where German workers were asked to judge hypothetical scenarios. The analyses show that respondents are more likely to accept bonuses if these can be directly attributed to the performance of the managers and if the company has a transparent information policy. In addition, moderate bonus payments are judged as being fairer. Finally, respondents seem to take into account that a company’s profits can seldom be ascribed solely to the efforts and performance of the management: The most influential factor for the evaluations of the respondents is the degree to which employees also share in firm profits.