The Joint Effect of Task Properties Feedback and Goal-Contingent Pay on Performance

Abstract

This study investigates how the distribution of task properties feedback interacts with goal-contingent pay in a complex task. We experimentally examine how task properties feedback with identical content influences performance when employees receive the feedback either evenly throughout a task or clustered at the beginning of the task, and whether goal-contingent pay moderates the effect. We predict and find that evenly distributed feedback produces higher performance when there is no goal-contingent pay. However, when goal-contingent pay is present, feedback distributed early yields higher performance. This study highlights the influence that goal-contingent pay can have on the effectiveness of task properties feedback.