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Behavioral Effects of Sustainability‐Oriented Incentive Systems
Author(s) -
Huber Robert,
Hirsch Bernhard
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
business strategy and the environment
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.123
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1099-0836
pISSN - 0964-4733
DOI - 10.1002/bse.1905
Subject(s) - incentive , sustainability , moderation , business , perspective (graphical) , perception , marketing , environmental economics , knowledge management , microeconomics , social psychology , psychology , economics , computer science , ecology , artificial intelligence , neuroscience , biology
Companies increasingly extend their existing incentive systems by integrating several sustainable performance indicators. Although these ‘sustainability‐oriented’ incentive systems clearly highlight which business objectives should be attained, little is known about the effects that these incentive systems have on employee behavior. Based on signaling theory, social identity theory and a person–organization fit (PO‐fit) perspective, we assume positive relations between sustainability‐oriented incentive systems and employee attraction, motivation and cooperation. Furthermore, we examine whether these relations are moderated by personal attitudes toward corporate sustainability activities as well as the underlying mechanisms at the moderation (mediated moderation). Our experimental results (with students as future employees) do not give support for a general positive relation between sustainability‐oriented incentive systems and employee behavior. However, our data show that a person's attitude toward corporate sustainability activities moderates the link between sustainability‐oriented incentive systems and employee behavior. Additionally, we find PO‐fit perceptions to mediate the interaction effects. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment