Recognizing Me Benefits We: Investigating the Positive Spillover Effects of Formal Individual Recognition in Teams

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Li, Ning; Zheng, Xiaoming; Harris, T. Brad; Liu, Xin; Kirkman, Bradley L.
• 署名单位: University of Iowa; Tsinghua University; Texas Christian University; North Carolina State University
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0021-9010
• DOI: 10.1037/apl0000101
• 发表日期: 2016
• 页码: 925-939
• 关键词: social recognition; awards; teams; motivation; social influence; field experiment

摘要

Many organizations use formal recognition programs (e.g., employee of the month) as a way to publically acknowledge an individual employee's outstanding performance and motivate continued high performance. However, it remains unclear whether emphasizing individual achievement in a team context is beneficial or detrimental for recipients' teammates and, by extension, the team as a whole. Drawing on a social influence perspective, we examine potential spillover effects of individual formal recognition programs in teams. We hypothesize that a single team member's recognition will produce positive spillover effects on other team members' performance, as well as overall team performance, via social influence processes, especially when the award recipient is located in a central position in a team. Findings from 2 lab experiments of 24 teams and 40 teams (Study 1 and Study 2, respectively) and a field experiment of 52 manufacturing teams (Study 3) reveal that formally recognizing a team member leads to positive changes in her/his teammates' individual and collective performance. Thus, formal social recognition programs can potentially provide a motivational effect beyond individual recipients.