Bruno S. Frey and Margit Osterloh analyze how traditional pay-for-performance schemes often fail in modern, knowledge-based economies. They argue that heavy reliance on extrinsic rewards, such as financial bonuses, frequently leads to the "crowding out" effect, where an individual’s internal drive to perform a task is diminished by external incentives. Through empirical surveys and organizational case studies, the authors present a framework for balancing extrinsic stabilizers with intrinsic motivators. Key concepts include managing "tacit knowledge" transfer and maintaining employee morale through procedural fairness and organizational identification rather than just monetary carrots and sticks.
Managers, human resource professionals, and economic researchers read this book to understand the limits of traditional incentive systems. The text provides a theoretical foundation for designing workplace environments that protect self-motivation while still utilizing necessary financial structures. Readers walk away with practical strategies for identifying when a performance-related pay model will likely backfire and how to foster long-term cooperation among specialists who must share complex information freely.
Outward-looking and growth-minded; a moderate read.
Best for readers like The Evidence Seeker. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 2001
- Publisher
- Springer Science & Business Media
- ISBN
- 9783540424017
- Language
- EN
