Incentive pay configurations: the influence of national culture

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas R. Prince ◽  
J. Bruce Prince ◽  
Rüediger Kabst

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of national culture on the adoption of four different incentive pay bundles (incentive maximizer, contingent rewarder, profit rewarder, and incentive minimizer) using GLOBE national culture dimensions in 14 countries. It uses incentive pay bundles derived by Prince et al. (2016). Design/methodology/approach The study adopted multilevel random-intercept logistic modeling using firm incentive practice usage from the CRANET database and country culture scores from the GLOBE study. Findings Evidence suggests that in-group collectivism is associated with increased use of the incentive maximizer approach, in which firms use a combination of high levels of individual, team, and profit sharing incentives, and decreased use of the incentive minimizer approach (where firms minimally employ incentives) and the individual and team bonus focused contingent rewarder configuration. Higher uncertainty avoidance is linked to increased use of the profit rewarder approach (where only profit sharing is emphasized) and decreased use of the contingent rewarder approach. Performance-orientation cultures appear to support using the incentive maximizer and avoiding the incentive minimizer bundles. Originality/value This study investigates incentive practice bundles that firms use verses separate analysis of practices and use the GLOBE culture metrics. It utilizes multilevel modeling, which has been lacking in past studies of culture and incentives.

Author(s):  
Nicholas R. Prince ◽  
J. Bruce Prince ◽  
Bradley R. Skousen ◽  
Rüediger Kabst

Purpose – Organizations worldwide are faced with the challenge of motivating and retaining employees. In addressing this challenge, organizations may use a variety of incentive pay practices to align employee behavior with organizational objectives. The purpose of this paper is to empirically identify the incentive pay practice configurations or bundles adopted by private sector firms across 14 different countries from several geographic regions. The patterns of incentive pay configuration adoption for each country are evaluated. Design/methodology/approach – Cluster analysis, ANOVA, and multilevel random-intercept logistic modeling are utilized on firms from the 2009 CRANET HRM survey. Findings – Phase I of this study empirically identifies four different configurations (contingent rewarder, incentive minimizer, incentive maximizer, and profit rewarder) derived from three incentive pay practices (individual bonus, team bonus, and profit sharing practices) that firms adopt. Phase II evaluates adoption rates by country and finds striking differences in incentive configurations that firms avoid or adopt. Some countries have clear adoption preferences (e.g. Denmark, Sweden, Japan, and France). In other countries firms employ a variety of incentive bundles (e.g. USA, UK, and Germany) and seem to be less constrained by country-based institutional factors. Research limitations/implications – Incentive practices are typically studied independent of the configuration of practices that firms select. This research helps us understand the typical bundles in use. Practical implications – Organizations worldwide are faced with the need to motivate employees. This research maps the incentive bundles preferred in each of 14 countries. Social implications – Employees in different countries come to work with expectations about pay and these shape their perceptions of incentive fairness. Originality/value – Research on incentives has tended to focus independently on specific practices and ignore the reality that organizations generally select multiple practices. This research identifies the combinations of incentive practices generally used and does so with firms from 14 countries from various world regions. These results also offer a map of the incentive bundles preferred in each country.


2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 546-566
Author(s):  
Raquel Orcos ◽  
Sergio Palomas

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how national cultures contribute to explain the uneven diffusion of ISO 14001 across countries. The paper focuses on two of the cultural dimensions developed by the global leadership and organizational behavior effectiveness (GLOBE) project, namely, performance orientation and institutional collectivism. Design/methodology/approach A database containing information about the diffusion of ISO 14001 in 52 countries during the period 1999–2016 was built to carry out this research. The countries considered in this study represent about 90 percent of worldwide ISO 14001 certifications. The information was gathered from publicly available data sources: the ISO Survey, published every year by the International Organization for Standardization, the world development indicators of the World Bank, the cultural dimensions of the GLOBE project and the Index of Economic Freedom provided by The Heritage Foundation. Findings This research finds that both performance orientation and institutional collectivism influence the diffusion of ISO 14001. Whereas performance orientation slows down the diffusion of ISO 14001, institutional collectivism speeds it up. Additionally, this research shows that the slowing effect of performance orientation decreases in strength over time, while the accelerating effect of institutional collectivism becomes stronger. Originality/value The study adds to the understanding of the influence of national culture on the diffusion of environmental management standards, with an emphasis on ISO 14001. A key contribution of this research is that it explores how the influence of cultural dimensions change over time as a result of the development and maturation of ISO 14001.


2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (5) ◽  
pp. 7-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pauline Drury

Purpose Examines the reward structures used by private-sector firms in different locations. Design/methodology/approach Analyzes the prevailing incentive pay practice configurations in 14 countries over four continents. Investigates the extent to which local factors constrain firms’ use of personal and team bonuses or profit-sharing. Findings “When in Rome, do as the Romans do” – an old saying but still relevant for the growing number of firms operating in several countries. A well-thought-out incentive scheme encourages employees to think and act in ways that support company objectives. But people in different places can have different ideas about what is fair and appropriate. Human resource professionals have to decide whether to follow the local norms or to introduce the firm’s established practices – and an informed decision can make the difference between having a motivated workforce or making an expensive mistake. Practical implications Observes that organizations in some countries show a strong preference for a particular bundle of incentive options. Warns that introducing a different approach may prove counter-productive unless combined with a careful process of change management. Social implications Highlights the importance of institutional context and social norms in determining the incentive pay configurations adopted in different countries. Originality/value Provides an international guide to prevailing patterns of incentive payment adoption. Shows that external constraints specific to individual countries can have a significant impact on the flexibility of incentive system design.


2014 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 437-452 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chung-wen Chen

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between gender and ethics, the interaction of job position and gender on ethics, and the three-way interacting effects of cultural values, job position, and gender on ethics. Design/methodology/approach – The individual-level data were from the 2005-2008 wave of World Values Survey data set and the cultural values were from the GLOBE study. The research contained 26,639 subjects from 30 nations and used HLM to conduct data analysis. Findings – Results showed that men are more likely than women to justify ethically suspect behaviors. In addition, under high in-group collectivism, the ethical difference between genders tends to decrease at high job positions and under high performance orientation, the ethical difference between genders tends to increase at high job positions. Research limitations/implications – This research depends on secondary data; it is therefore impossible for the author to control the data collection process, which could be an issue for discussion. In addition, because of limited available studies to refer to, the formation of the individual-level moderator, job position, might cause some attention. Practical implications – Corporate education and training in regards to ethical issues becomes even more vital, especially for men, since the statistical results showed that men are more likely than women to be deviant. Meanwhile, organizations can help themselves by recruiting a greater number of females, as this study shows that females are seen to make more ethically sound decisions than males. Furthermore, under the contexts of high in-group collectivism and low performance orientation, both genders in higher job positions tend to be more unethical than people in lower positions. Since people in higher positions have the right and the power to set the ethical tone for the organization (Clinard, 1983; Posner and Schmidt, 1992), it becomes particularly essential for firms to pay close attention to ethical issues in higher job positions. Originality/value – The study proved that the relationship between gender and ethics is more complicated than expected; job position, and cultural values can jointly influence the individual-level relationship. In addition, since human behavior is complicated, employing multilevel method to investigate humane behaviors in the field of management becomes necessary in the future.


2015 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 762-782 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cheryl Nakata ◽  
Erin Antalis

Purpose – The base of the pyramid (BOP) is characterized by deep and wide poverty, which dampens market exchanges, or making/selling and buying/consuming activities. The purpose of this paper is to address the specific issue of how national culture distinguishes BOP markets in terms of exchange activities, and the broad issue of how market exchanges can grow and flourish by accounting for comparative differences across BOP markets. Design/methodology/approach – The study design is a conceptual framework drawn from the extant BOP literature and several theories such as Amartya Sen’s theory on poverty, and Anthony Bebbington’s concepts of human capital. The framework specifies research propositions for future empirical examination. Findings – The conceptual framework proposes that BOP poverty lowers or inhibits market exchanges but is countered by several factors: national culture (performance orientation), non-traditional assets (creative and social capitals), and transformative technologies (mobile telephony). Assuming these factors vary by BOP setting, greater performance orientation alongside higher social capital, creative capital, and mobile telephony directly and/or interactively increase market exchange activities. Research limitations/implications – Among research implications are the application of other culture theories to the BOP market exchange issue, and the need to examine the role of government and other non-traditional capitals in exchanges. Practical implications – Managerial implications include the targeting and selection of BOP markets and development of marketing tactics that leverage cultural, nontraditional, and technological assets. Originality/value – This paper explores how to counter the negative effects of BOP poverty on market exchanges by leveraging the distinctives and variations among BOP markets.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard G. Brody ◽  
Gaurav Gupta ◽  
Michael Turner

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine factors motivating an individual to report a whistleblowing scenario to various stakeholders within a company. This paper examines how four factors (country of origin and the espoused national cultures of masculinity, collectivism and uncertainty avoidance) influence the level of responsibility toward three stakeholders at different levels of hierarchy in an organization. Design/methodology/approach Using a case-based approach, this study collects data from 432 accounting students from two different countries. Using regression analysis on the pooled data, this paper provides evidence on how accounting students would behave when facing a whistleblowing situation involving their immediate supervisor. Findings This study finds that country of origin and espoused national cultural values influence the individual’s decision regarding whom to blow the whistle. Originality/value The study has improved upon the methodological deficiencies of previous studies that rely on Hofstede’s (1980) cultural values in that the paper focuses on the espoused national culture at the individual level.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Roshni Das

PurposeThere is a dearth of literature on what are the factors in terms of leaders’ and followers’ characteristics that impact innovation at the country level. The purpose of this paper is to build theoretical argument and provide empirical evidence of these factors using a cross-cultural mode of study across 56 nations.Design/methodology/approachThe Bayesian modelling technique is used on data from the GLOBE survey.FindingsInnovation at the individual, team and organisational levels has generally been associated with the relationship-motivated leadership, as opposed to task-motivated leadership. This study confirms that this premise holds at the societal level of analysis as well. The second finding is that in terms of followers’ cultural characteristics, out of three variables (power distance, collectivism and performance orientation) tested, only power distance orientation is found to have a predictive relationship with aggregate innovation. The moderator slope analysis unveils a nuanced understanding of how the interaction between leadership styles and followers’ cultural traits impact national innovativeness.Research limitations/implicationsCulture and leadership configurations that bolster innovation need to be studied more thoroughly.Practical implicationsThis study has implications for multi-country teams involved in research and development activities.Originality/valueTo our knowledge, this is the first study to unpack leader−follower relationships as predictors of national innovation. A leadership-culture fit perspective is advanced.


2011 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 148-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marisa H. Miceli ◽  
Stella M. Bernardo ◽  
T. S. Neil Ku ◽  
Carla Walraven ◽  
Samuel A. Lee

ABSTRACTInfections and thromboses are the most common complications associated with central venous catheters. Suggested strategies for prevention and management of these complications include the use of heparin-coated catheters, heparin locks, and antimicrobial lock therapy. However, the effects of heparin onCandida albicansbiofilms and planktonic cells have not been previously studied. Therefore, we sought to determine thein vitroeffect of a heparin sodium preparation (HP) on biofilms and planktonic cells ofC. albicans. Because HP contains two preservatives, methyl paraben (MP) and propyl paraben (PP), these compounds and heparin sodium without preservatives (Pure-H) were also tested individually. The metabolic activity of the mature biofilm after treatment was assessed using XTT [2,3-bis-(2-methoxy-4-nitro-5-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium-5-carboxanilide] reduction and microscopy. Pure-H, MP, and PP caused up to 75, 85, and 60% reductions of metabolic activity of the mature preformedC. albicansbiofilms, respectively. Maximal efficacy against the mature biofilm was observed with HP (up to 90%) compared to the individual compounds (P< 0.0001). Pure-H, MP, and PP each inhibitedC. albicansbiofilm formation up to 90%. A complete inhibition of biofilm formation was observed with HP at 5,000 U/ml and higher. When tested against planktonic cells, each compound inhibited growth in a dose-dependent manner. These data indicated that HP, MP, PP, and Pure-H havein vitroantifungal activity againstC. albicansmature biofilms, formation of biofilms, and planktonic cells. Investigation of high-dose heparin-based strategies (e.g., heparin locks) in combination with traditional antifungal agents for the treatment and/or prevention ofC. albicansbiofilms is warranted.


2017 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 253-268 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie Soklaridis ◽  
Ayelet Kuper ◽  
Cynthia R. Whitehead ◽  
Genevieve Ferguson ◽  
Valerie H. Taylor ◽  
...  

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the experiences of gender bias among women hospital CEOs and explore to what these female leaders attribute their success within a male-dominated hospital executive leadership milieu. Design/methodology/approach This qualitative study involved 12 women hospital CEOs from across Ontario, Canada. Purposeful sampling techniques and in-depth qualitative interview methods were used to facilitate discussion around experiences of gender and leadership. Findings Responses fell into two groups: the first group represented the statement “Gender inequality is alive and well”. The second group reflected the statement “Gender inequity is not significant, did not happen to me, and things are better now”. This group contained a sub-group with no consciousness of systemic discrimination and that claimed having no gendered experiences in their leadership journey. The first group described gender issues in various contexts, from the individual to the systemic. The second group was ambivalent about gender as a factor impacting leadership trajectories. Originality/value Representations of women’s leadership have become detached from feminism, with major consequences for women. This study reveals how difficult it is for some women CEOs to identify gender bias. The subtle everyday norms and practices within the workplace make it difficult to name and explain gender bias explicitly and may explain the challenges in understanding how it might affect a woman’s career path.


2015 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 433-455 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina Ling-hsing Chang ◽  
Tung-Ching Lin

Purpose – The purpose of the study is to focus on the enhancement of knowledge management (KM) performance and the relationship between organizational culture and KM process intention of individuals because of the diversity of organizational cultures (which include results-oriented, tightly controlled, job-oriented, closed system and professional-oriented cultures). Knowledge is a primary resource in organizations. If firms are able to effectively manage their knowledge resources, then a wide range of benefits can be reaped such as improved corporate efficiency, effectiveness, innovation and customer service. Design/methodology/approach – The survey methodology, which has the ability to enhance generalization of results (Dooley, 2001), was used to collect the data utilized in the testing of the research hypotheses. Findings – Results- and job-oriented cultures have positive effects on employee intention in the KM process (creation, storage, transfer and application), whereas a tightly controlled culture has negative effects. Research limitations/implications – However, it would have been better to use a longitudinal study to collect useful long-term data to understand how the KM process would be influenced when organizational culture dimensions are changed through/by management. This is the first limitation of this study. According to Mason and Pauleen (2003), KM culture is a powerful predictor of individual knowledge-sharing behavior, which is not included in this study. Thus, this is the second limitation of this paper. Moreover, national culture could be an important issue in the KM process (Jacks et al., 2012), which is the third limitation of this paper for not comprising it. Practical implications – In researchers’ point of view, results- and job-oriented cultures have positive effects, whereas a tightly controlled culture has a negative effect on the KM process intention of the individual. These findings provide evidences that challenge the perspective of Kayworth and Leidner (2003) on this issue. As for practitioners, management has a direction to modify their organizational culture to improve the performance of KM process. Social implications – Both behavioral and value perspectives of the organizational cultural dimensions (results-oriented, tightly control, job-oriented, sociability, solidarity, need for achievement and democracy) should be examined to ascertain their effects firstly on KM culture and then on the KM process intention of the individual. It is hoped that the current study will spawn future investigations that lead to the development of an integrated model which includes organizational culture, KM culture and the KM process intention of the individual. Originality/value – The results-oriented, loosely controlled and job-oriented cultures will improve the effectiveness of the KM process and will also increase employees’ satisfaction and willingness to stay with the organization.


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