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Person-Organization Fit and Incentives: A Causal Test

Author

Listed:
  • Andersson, Ola

    (Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN))

  • Huysentruyt, Marieke

    (London School of Economics)

  • Miettinen, Topi

    (Hanken School of Economics at HECER)

  • Stephan, Ute

    (Aston Business School)

Abstract

We investigate the effects of organizational culture and personal value orientations on performance under individual and team contest incentives. We develop a model of regard for others and in-group favoritism predicting interaction effects between organizational culture and personal values in the contest games. The predictions are tested in a computerized lab experiment with exogenous control of both organizational culture and incentives. In line with our theoretical model we find that prosocial (proself) orientated subjects exert more (less) effort in team contests in the primed prosocial organizational culture condition, relative to the neutrally primed baseline condition. Further, when the prosocial organizational culture is combined with individual contest incentives, prosocial subjects no longer outperform their proself counterparts. These findings provide a first, affirmative, causal test of person-organization fit theory. They also suggest the importance of a 'triple-fit' between personal preferences, organizational culture and incentive mechanisms for prosocially orientated individuals.

Suggested Citation

  • Andersson, Ola & Huysentruyt, Marieke & Miettinen, Topi & Stephan, Ute, 2014. "Person-Organization Fit and Incentives: A Causal Test," Working Paper Series 1010, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:iuiwop:1010
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    2. Ina Ganguli & Marieke Huysentruyt & Chloé Le Coq, 2021. "How Do Nascent Social Entrepreneurs Respond to Rewards? A Field Experiment on Motivations in a Grant Competition," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(10), pages 6294-6316, October.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Tournaments; Organizational culture; Personal values; Person-organization fit; Teams; Economic incentives;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C91 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Individual Behavior
    • D02 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Institutions: Design, Formation, Operations, and Impact
    • D23 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Organizational Behavior; Transaction Costs; Property Rights
    • J33 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Compensation Packages; Payment Methods
    • M52 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics - - - Compensation and Compensation Methods and Their Effects

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