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Empowerment, Task Commitment, and Performance Pay

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  • Michael Beckmann
  • Matthias Kräkel

Abstract

Although from the viewpoint of social psychology task commitment is a driving force for intrinsic motivation in the workplace, this topic has been widely ignored in labor and personnel economics so far. Our paper reduces this gap in the literature by offering a theoretical analysis of worker empowerment and task commitment. This approach also helps to explain the observed variety of compensation schemes across workers and firms. By using a large-scale linked employer-employee panel data set, we present empirical evidence that is consistent with the predicted patterns of our theoretical model.

Suggested Citation

  • Michael Beckmann & Matthias Kräkel, 2022. "Empowerment, Task Commitment, and Performance Pay," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 40(4), pages 889-938.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucp:jlabec:doi:10.1086/718465
    DOI: 10.1086/718465
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    Cited by:

    1. Johannes Lehmann & Michael Beckmann, 2024. "Digital technologies and performance incentives: Evidence from businesses in the Swiss economy," Papers 2412.12780, arXiv.org.
    2. Lehmann, Johannes, 2024. "HR analytics: A centralizing or decentralizing force?," Working papers 2024/13, Faculty of Business and Economics - University of Basel.
    3. Burdin, Gabriel & Dughera, Stefano & Landini, Fabio & Belloc, Filippo, 2023. "Contested Transparency: Digital Monitoring Technologies and Worker Voice," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1340, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    4. Holger Herz & Christian Zihlmann, 2024. "Adverse effects of control? Evidence from a field experiment," Experimental Economics, Springer;Economic Science Association, vol. 27(2), pages 469-488, April.
    5. Simon Alexander Wiese & Johannes Lehmann & Michael Beckmann, 2024. "Organizational culture and the usage of Industry 4.0 technologies: evidence from Swiss businesses," Papers 2412.12752, arXiv.org.

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