| Variable pay (VP) plans represent compensation systems where employees can earn financial incentives based upon their recent performance. However, some employees resist the implementation of VP plans, which may mitigate their utility. Hence, the purpose of this dissertation was to test an integrative behavioral intention model that examined employees' intentions to support the use of variable pay in their organizations. Grounded in behavioral intention theories and management science, the model proposed that work belief factors (pay valence and risk aversion), justice factors (procedural justice of pay systems and distributive justice of pay outcomes), referent support factors (coworker support for VP and top management support for VP), and performance factors (work self-efficacy and past performance) would predict employees' attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived control over supporting VP. Attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived control were expected to predict intentions and to fully mediate the effect of work belief, justice, referent support, and performance factors on intention to support VP. A cross-sectional survey design was utilized, involving 245 teachers from six school districts. Hypotheses were tested using confirmatory factor analyses and structural equation modeling. Results indicated that: (1) attitude and subjective norm positively predicted intentions, (2) procedural justice of pay systems negatively predicted attitudes, and (3) coworker support for VP positively predicted subjective norms. Against predictions, perceived control was not a significant predictor of intention. In addition, pay valence, risk aversion, distributive justice, top management support for VP, work self-efficacy and past performance were not significant predictors in the hypothesized model. Supplementary analyses, grounded in behavioral reasoning theory (BRT), revealed that participants' reasons for and reasons against supporting VP were independently related to attitudes, subjective norms, perceived control, and intentions to support VP. These results provided incremental validity for BRT over the theory of planned behavior. Finally, the importance of coworker attitudes, procedural justice, and behavioral intention theories is discussed in relation to pay for performance systems. |
