The Compensatory Effects of Non-Pecuniary Attributes and the Moderating Effects of Applicant Dispositions on Applicants' Acceptance of Lower-Pay Jobs

Abstract

Applicants' job choices are influenced by pay level as well as non-pecuniary attributes, but no research has presented evidence regarding the compensatory effects of non-pecuniary attribute. According to selfdetermination theory, applicants would accept lower-pay jobs with favorable relatedness and growth attributes in order to fulfill basic psychological needs. In addition, the occurrence of this compensatory effect may depend on applicants' dispositions. Thus, the aim of the present study is to examine the effects of the difference in relatedness attributes and growth attributes between lower-pay jobs and higher-pay jobs on applicants' acceptance intention and choice for lower-pay jobs, and the moderating effects of applicant dispositions such as need for affiliation and need for growth. A2 × 2 between-subjects experimental design was conducted with 151 graduating students in Taiwan, and written scenarios were used to simulate a jobchoice setting. Results show that applicants (1) had greater intention of accepting and (2) were more likely to choose a lower-pay job when only the lower-pay job possessed favorable growth or relatedness attributes than when both jobs possessed favorable growth or relatedness attributes. In addition, applicants with a relatively high need for growth were more likely than participants with relatively low need for growth to accept the lower-pay job with favorable growth attributes when large growth-attribute differences were present between the two jobs.