Team-Reward Fit: Examining the Interaction Effects of Reward Target and Self-Construal on Conflict, Identity, Satisfaction, and Performance

Abstract

Team-based rewards have been advanced as a way of encouraging cooperation among team members, reducing conflict, and improving member satisfaction, but empirical results have been mixed. The two studies reported in this paper show evidence that the effectiveness of team-based rewards depends on team members’ self-construals. Specifically, across two different tasks and different operationalizations of self-construal, we find that better outcomes are associated with a match between the target of the reward and members’ self-construal. Teams composed of members with interdependent self-construals experienced less conflict and were more identified and satisfied with their teams when they received team-based rewards. In contrast, teams composed of members with independent self-construals experienced less conflict and were more identified and satisfied with their teams when they received individually-based rewards.