Does pay for individual performance truly undermine employee creativity? The different moderating roles of vertical and horizontal collectivist orientations

Abstract

The extant literature has generated inconclusive findings concerning the effect of pay for individual performance (PFIP) on creativity. Supplementing self-determination theory with compensation-activation theory, we theorized and tested the moderating roles of individual cultural values of vertical and horizontal collectivist orientations on the relationship between PFIP and employee creativity as mediated by intrinsic motivation. The empirical results of two field studies provided convergent support for the intrinsic motivation mechanism underlying the positive relationship between PFIP and employee creativity among individuals with high vertical (but not horizontal) collectivist orientations. These findings highlight the importance of considering individual differences in cultural values in understanding how extrinsic rewards affect creativity.

Striving for the bottom line: the impact of supervisor bottom-line mentality on employees' work effort and helping behavior

“…In other words, we suggested that employees will perceive a match between supervisor BLM cues and the representative characteristics of cultural value orientation. As individuals with high collectivism orientation are willing to sacrifice their interests to benefit collective interests and welfare (Zhang et al. , 2022).…”

“…In other words, we suggested that employees will perceive a match between supervisor BLM cues and the representative characteristics of cultural value orientation. As individuals with high collectivism orientation are willing to sacrifice their interests to benefit collective interests and welfare (Zhang et al, 2022). If the bottom-line goal benefits to collective interest, employees with high collectivism orientation are more likely to view supervisor BLM as their bottom-line goal.…”

The Values Supporting the Creativity of Employees

“…The compiled list of values consists from: A1: the meaningfulness of work (employees know the meaning of their work) (Yeh-Yun Lin and Liu, 2012; Pirola-Merlo and Mann, 2021; Zhang H. et al, 2021); A2: engagement according to González-González and García-Almeida (2021) and Özdemir et al (2021); A3: enthusiasm resp. passion (González-González and García-Almeida, 2021; Görzen, 2021;Muñoz-Pascual et al, 2021); A4: cooperation (Muñoz-Pascual et al, 2021;Ozer and Zhang, 2021;Zhang H. et al, 2021;Zhang Y. et al, 2021); A5: recognition (public, personal) (Gong et al, 2009;Oyedele, 2013;Görzen, 2021;Zhang H. et al, 2021); A6: open communication (Oyedele, 2013;González-González and García-Almeida, 2021;Muñoz-Pascual et al, 2021;Zhang H. et al, 2021); A7: support (Gong et al, 2009;Yeh-Yun Lin and Liu, 2012;Özdemir et al, 2021); A8: autonomy (Muñoz-Pascual et al, 2021;Wang et al, 2021); A9: emphasis on health (Oyedele, 2013;Özdemir et al, 2021); A10: trust (Baldé et al, 2018); A11: responsibility (inner sense of responsibility) (Görzen, 2021;Muñoz-Pascual et al, 2021). Questionnaire responses were analyzed using SPSS Statistics 26.…”

“…Applying common values, creative behavior of employees and the willingness to share knowledge and new ideas are closely related to the chosen way of motivation (Ručková et al, 2018;Doktorová and Varečková, 2021). Zhang Y. et al (2021) confirmed through field studies the importance of convergent support for the internal motivation mechanism, which is based on a positive relationship between the effect of reward on individual performance and employee creativity. These are individuals with a high vertical (but not horizontal) team orientation.…”

“…These are individuals with a high vertical (but not horizontal) team orientation. According to Zhang Y. et al (2021), the understanding of how external rewards affect creativity leads to emphasizing the importance of taking into account individual differences in cultural values. In contrast, research conducted using a questionnaire survey in the energy industry in Vietnam did not show (Vu et al, 2021) a statistically significant relationship between intrinsic motivation at the experiential level and employee creativity.…”