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A drop in the bucket: when is a pay raise a pay raise?
Author(s) -
MITRA ATUL,
GUPTA NINA,
JENKINS, JR. G. DOUGLAS
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
journal of organizational behavior
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.938
H-Index - 177
eISSN - 1099-1379
pISSN - 0894-3796
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1099-1379(199703)18:2<117::aid-job790>3.0.co;2-1
Subject(s) - merit pay , perception , psychology , pay for performance , sample (material) , economics , social psychology , microeconomics , incentive , chemistry , chromatography , neuroscience
Although merit pay continues to receive much theoretical and practical attention, little systematic effort is devoted to determining how large a pay raise must be before employees see it as a pay raise. This study uses psychophysical reasoning and techniques in a sample of 192 student ‘employees’ to establish the size of pay raise thresholds in a relatively controlled setting. Results indicate that, below about the 7 per cent level, increases in pay amounts are unlikely to evoke positive perceptual and attitudinal reactions among employees. Theoretical, methodological, and practical implications of these results are highlighted. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.