Fixed Pay for Output or Time? Implications for Work Speed and Quality

• 成果类型: Article; Early Access
• 署名作者: Deller, Carolyn; Gallino, Santiago
• 署名单位: University of Pennsylvania
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF ACCOUNTING RESEARCH
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0021-8456; 1475-679X
• DOI: 10.1111/1475-679x.70049
• 发表日期: 2026-04-02
• 关键词: compensation; fixed-wage; multidimensional tasks; Effort; incentive contracts; performance; COMPENSATION

摘要

This paper explores the influence of two fixed payment arrangements-time-based and output-based wages-on worker behavior and performance in a multidimensional task setting. We examine how these wages affect the time workers spend on individual units of a task and their work quality. We contend that fixed compensation schemes can implicitly communicate standards of acceptable work. Our empirical evidence from MTurk experiments and a laboratory experiment indicates that workers on output-based wages deliver higher quality and spend more time on individual units than their time-based counterparts. These findings are consistent with output-based wages, implying a standard of acceptable quality-without a conflicting standard of speed-to which workers respond. Our results emphasize the power of implicit cues from fixed compensation schemes and offer insights for employers, suggesting the choice between output- and time-based wages should be informed by whether quality or turnaround time is valued more.