Recent studies have demonstrated motivation gains of low performing group members even beyond the level of an individual work baseline (e.g., Weber and Hertel, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 93:973-993, 2007). We expected that the underlying mechanisms of these motivation gains, i.e., social indispensability and social competition, are moderated by individuals' gender. Moreover, these gender effects were assumed to be moderated by partner anonymity. Predictions were tested with mostly undergraduate German students (N=213) working in same-gender groups in a computer-supported environment. Results revealed that motivation gains due to social indispensability were more likely for women, whereas motivation gains due to social competition were more likely for men. Furthermore, women compared to men showed higher motivation gains in anonymous conditions compared to conditions with an acquainted partner.

Competition strongly affects individual effort and performance for both individuals and groups. Especially in work settings, these effort gains might come at the cost of individual well-being. The present study tested whether competition increases both effort (as indicated by task performance) and stress (in terms of cardiovascular reactivity and affective response), and whether this effect is further qualified by the type of competition (interindividual vs. intergroup), using a cognitive computer-based task and a 2 (Group: Yes, No) × 2 (Competition: Yes, No) × 2 (Gender) factorial design (N = 147). All participants either worked as a representative of a group or as an individual, and were offered performance-related incentives distributed in a lottery. In the competition conditions, participants were informed that they competed with someone else, and that only the winning person/team would take part in the lottery. Consistent with expectations, competition increased both individual effort and cardiovascular reactivity compared to non-competitive work. Moreover, for female participants, intergroup competition triggered increased effort and more positive affect than interindividual competition. Aside from documenting costly side-effects of competition in terms of stress, this study provides evidence for a stress-related explanation of effort gains during intergroup competition as compared to interindividual competition.

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Group work in organizations usually involves the existence of more than one group, which can lead to intergroup competition either implicitly or based on explicit competitive incentives. In this paper, a model of task-related effort in multigroup settings is developed, relating findings on intergroup competition to current research on motivation and information processing in groups. Increased effort during intergroup competition is explained based on (a) the degree of deliberate and systematic information retrieval and processing, and (b) the degree of collective self-construal within the groups. Implications for using and dealing with intergroup competition in organizations are discussed.