Getting “More Bang for the Buck”

Abstract

Practitioners view monetary rewards as an important and powerful motivational tool. Yet organizational research has focused primarily on the economic value of these rewards. In this essay, the authors challenge this view by suggesting that monetary rewards also acquire symbolic meaning via the organization's distribution practices. They contend that the presence of symbolic meaning adds symbolic value to the economic value of the reward, which increases the reward's overall perceived value. They argue that the increased perceived value of the reward can lead to desired organizational outcomes. Conversely, the authors argue that the absence of symbolic meaning can lessen the overall perceived value of the reward. This increases the likelihood of undesired organizational outcomes. These ideas have implications for organizational scholars' theories about monetary rewards and for how practitioners distribute monetary rewards in organizations.

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