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The Effects Of Financial And Recognition Incentives Across Work Contexts: The Role Of Meaning

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  • Michael Kosfeld
  • Susanne Neckermann
  • Xiaolan Yang

Abstract

We manipulate workers' perceived meaning of a job in a field experiment and interact meaning of work with both financial and recognition incentives. Results show that workers exert more effort when meaning is high. Money has a positive effect on performance that is independent of meaning. In contrast, meaning and recognition interact negatively. Our results provide new insights into the stability of incentive effects across important work contexts. They also suggest that meaning and worker recognition may operate via the same motivational channel.
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  • Michael Kosfeld & Susanne Neckermann & Xiaolan Yang, 2017. "The Effects Of Financial And Recognition Incentives Across Work Contexts: The Role Of Meaning," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 55(1), pages 237-247, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ecinqu:v:55:y:2017:i:1:p:237-247
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Loft, Lasse & Gehrig, Stefan & Le, Dung Ngoc & Rommel, Jens, 2018. "Effectiveness and equity of Payments for Ecosystem Services: Real-effort experiments with Vietnamese land users," OSF Preprints b34fw, Center for Open Science.
    2. Robert Dur & Max van Lent, 2019. "Socially Useless Jobs," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(1), pages 3-16, January.
    3. Loft, Lasse & Gehrig, Stefan & Le, Dung Ngoc & Rommel, Jens, 2019. "Effectiveness and equity of Payments for Ecosystem Services: Real-effort experiments with Vietnamese land users," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 218-228.
    4. Jesper Armouti-Hansen & Lea Cassar & Anna Deréky, 2020. "Efficiency Wages with Motivated Agents," CESifo Working Paper Series 8474, CESifo.
    5. Nikolova, Milena & Cnossen, Femke, 2020. "What makes work meaningful and why economists should care about it," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    6. Sebastian Fest & Ola Kvaløy & Petra Nieken & Anja Schöttner, 2019. "Motivation and incentives in an online labor market," CESifo Working Paper Series 7526, CESifo.
    7. Florian Englmaier & Stefan Grimm & David Schindler & Simeon Andreas Dermot Schudy, 2018. "The Effect of Incentives in Non-Routine Analytical Team Tasks - Evidence from a Field Experiment," CESifo Working Paper Series 6903, CESifo.
    8. Jeworrek, Sabrina & Mertins, Vanessa, 2019. "Mission, motivation, and the active decision to work for a social cause," IWH Discussion Papers 10/2019, Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH).
    9. Małgorzata W Kożusznik & José M Peiró & Aida Soriano, 2019. "Daily eudaimonic well-being as a predictor of daily performance: A dynamic lens," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(4), pages 1-24, April.
    10. Christiane Bradler & Susanne Neckermann, 2019. "The Magic of the Personal Touch: Field Experimental Evidence on Money and Appreciation as Gifts," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 121(3), pages 1189-1221, July.
    11. Ho F. Chan & Franklin G. Mixon & Benno Torgler, 2018. "Relation of early career performance and recognition to the probability of winning the Nobel Prize in economics," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 114(3), pages 1069-1086, March.
    12. Bradler, Christiane & Neckermann, Susanne, 2016. "The magic of the personal touch: Field experimental evidence on money appreciation as gifts," ZEW Discussion Papers 16-043, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    13. Jeworrek, Sabrina & Mertins, Vanessa & Vlassopoulos, Michael, 2018. ""The good news about bad news": Feedback about past organisational failure and its impact on worker productivity," IWH Discussion Papers 1/2018, Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH).
    14. Jessica van Wingerden & Laura Berger & Rob Poell, 2018. "The Role of Person-Organization Value Fit in Employees’ Experience of Meaningful Work, Use of Strengths and Work Engagement," Business Management and Strategy, Macrothink Institute, vol. 9(2), pages 1-17, December.
    15. Vanessa, Mertins & Jeworrek, Sabrina & Vlassopoulos, Michael, 2018. ""The Good News about Bad News": Feedback about Past Organisational Failure Bad ist Impact in Worker Productivity," VfS Annual Conference 2018 (Freiburg, Breisgau): Digital Economy 181644, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    16. Tobias Wolf & Maria Metzing & Richard E. Lucas, 2019. "Experienced Well-Being and Labor Market Status: The Role of Pleasure and Meaning," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 1043, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments
    • J33 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Compensation Packages; Payment Methods
    • M12 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Personnel Management; Executives; Executive Compensation
    • M52 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics - - - Compensation and Compensation Methods and Their Effects

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