IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/jomstd/v56y2019i6p1105-1137.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Well It’s Only Fair: How Perceptions of Manager Discretion in Bonus Allocation Affect Intrinsic Motivation

Author

Listed:
  • Rebecca Hewett
  • Hannes Leroy

Abstract

Perceptions of manager discretion in incentive allocation are theoretically and practically important to help explain the much‐debated relationship between performance‐related bonuses and intrinsic motivation. We argue, and demonstrate, that perceived managerial discretion is a key moderator to this relationship because of its relevance to procedural fairness. In a first study, we developed a measure for perceived manager discretion and distinguished it from related concepts. In a second experiment, we found that higher bonuses associated with higher levels of perceived manager discretion enhanced procedural fairness but those based on lower discretion did not. In a third field study, we found that actual bonuses implemented by a service organization enhanced intrinsic motivation indirectly through procedural fairness, but only when employees perceived their bonus to be based on higher levels of perceived manager discretion. Conversely, when bonus level was associated with lower perceived manager discretion, it negatively predicted of intrinsic motivation.

Suggested Citation

  • Rebecca Hewett & Hannes Leroy, 2019. "Well It’s Only Fair: How Perceptions of Manager Discretion in Bonus Allocation Affect Intrinsic Motivation," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 56(6), pages 1105-1137, September.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:jomstd:v:56:y:2019:i:6:p:1105-1137
    DOI: 10.1111/joms.12445
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/joms.12445
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/joms.12445?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Kateřina Knorová –Jana Fibírová, 2020. "Work motivation. Self-determination theory: literature review [Motivace v pracovním prostředí. Teorie sebeurčení a její vývoj: Literární rešerše]," Český finanční a účetní časopis, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2020(3-4).
    2. Kateřina Knorová & Jana Fibírová, 2020. "Work motivation. Self-determination theory: literature review [Motivace v pracovním prostředí. Teorie sebeurčení a její vývoj: Literární rešerše]," Český finanční a účetní časopis, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2020(3-4), pages 71-93.
    3. Rebecca Hewett, 2023. "Dissonance, Reflection and Reframing: Unpacking the Black Box of Motivation Internalization," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(2), pages 285-312, March.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:jomstd:v:56:y:2019:i:6:p:1105-1137. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0022-2380 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.