Relationships Between Leader Reward and Punishment Behavior and Group Processes and Productivity

Abstract

This study was designed to investigate the relationships between subordinates' perceptions of leader reward and punishment behaviors and group cohesiveness, drive, and productivity. In addition, the effects of common method or same-source variance on these relationships was also assessed. Questionnaires were administered to 827 employees in three different organizations. Leader contingent reward behavior (CR) was found to be positively related to group drive, cohesiveness, and group productivity. These relationships were found to be robust, even when they were statistically controlled for common method variance. Leader contingent punishment behavior (CP) was also found to be positively related to group drive and productivity in this study, although only the relationship between CP and group productivity remained significant when same-source variance was partialled out. Leader noncontingent punishment behavior (NCP) was negatively related to group drive. Finally, while leader noncontingent reward behavior (NCR) was not initially related to group drive, cohesiveness, or productivity, this leader behavior was found to be negatively related to each of these group criterion variables when general method variance was partialled out.