The Effect of Reward Structures in GSS on Group Performance

Abstract

In any organization, rewards play significant roles in influencing human behaviour at the group level as well as at the individual level. People are keenly aware of how their work is evaluated and rewarded. Reward Allocation Agent (RAA) was developed by the authors of this paper, and implemented for a CyberCollaboratory experiment to automate and track group reward allocation and distribution. To evaluate the effect of reward scheme, 111 students volunteered to participate in this study. Participants indicated that the system is well designed and they are very satisfied with their final decisions. The authors speculated that groups with different reward schemes might produce difference in members’ participation and satisfaction. However, it turned out that there is no significant difference among three experimental groups (I, G, and H) in both the level of members’ participation and their satisfaction.