{"id":{"repo_id":"utc","oai_identifier":"oai:scholar.utc.edu:theses-2252"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/utc/oai:scholar.utc.edu:theses-2252","repository":{"repo_id":"utc","name":"University of Tennessee - Chattanooga","base_url":"https://scholar.utc.edu/do/oai/"},"display":{"title":"The role of fairness, transparency, and feedback in driving motivation and performance among employees in incentive-based roles","abstract":"Pay transparency legislation and heightened employee expectations have made fair, transparent reward systems a strategic priority. Guided by Equity Theory and Expectancy Theory, this study examined how perceived pay fairness, reward transparency, and feedback quality explained self-determined work motivation among incentive-based employees, and whether relationships varied by career stage. Data were collected from two independent samples in incentive-based roles: an internet-based pool (N = 295) and employees from a large southeastern U.S. manufacturing organization (N = 91). Hierarchical multiple regression and moderation analyses revealed perceived pay fairness was a significant positive predictor of motivation in both samples. Reward transparency predicted motivation in Sample 1 but did not replicate in Sample 2. Feedback quality functioned as a direct predictor rather than a moderator. Professional experience did not moderate any compensation-motivation relationships. Findings underscore the importance of fair, transparent, feedback-rich reward systems and suggest motivational effects generalize across career stages.","abstract_html":"Pay transparency legislation and heightened employee expectations have made fair, transparent reward systems a strategic priority. Guided by Equity Theory and Expectancy Theory, this study examined how perceived pay fairness, reward transparency, and feedback quality explained self-determined work motivation among incentive-based employees, and whether relationships varied by career stage. Data were collected from two independent samples in incentive-based roles: an internet-based pool (N = 295) and employees from a large southeastern U.S. manufacturing organization (N = 91). Hierarchical multiple regression and moderation analyses revealed perceived pay fairness was a significant positive predictor of motivation in both samples. Reward transparency predicted motivation in Sample 1 but did not replicate in Sample 2. Feedback quality functioned as a direct predictor rather than a moderator. Professional experience did not moderate any compensation-motivation relationships. Findings underscore the importance of fair, transparent, feedback-rich reward systems and suggest motivational effects generalize across career stages.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Gibbs, Wesley C."],"institution":"University of Tennessee at Chattanooga","degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Cunningham, Christopher J. L.","O'Leary, Brian J.; Guo, Feng","College of Arts and Sciences"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":null,"date_issued":"","date_published":null,"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:47:28Z","subjects":["Employee morale","Employee motivation","Incentive awards"],"languages":["English","eng"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholar.utc.edu/theses/1059","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Cunningham, Christopher J. 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S.; A thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Science."]},{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Pay transparency legislation and heightened employee expectations have made fair, transparent reward systems a strategic priority. Guided by Equity Theory and Expectancy Theory, this study examined how perceived pay fairness, reward transparency, and feedback quality explained self-determined work motivation among incentive-based employees, and whether relationships varied by career stage. Data were collected from two independent samples in incentive-based roles: an internet-based pool (N = 295) and employees from a large southeastern U.S. manufacturing organization (N = 91). Hierarchical multiple regression and moderation analyses revealed perceived pay fairness was a significant positive predictor of motivation in both samples. Reward transparency predicted motivation in Sample 1 but did not replicate in Sample 2. Feedback quality functioned as a direct predictor rather than a moderator. Professional experience did not moderate any compensation-motivation relationships. Findings underscore the importance of fair, transparent, feedback-rich reward systems and suggest motivational effects generalize across career stages."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The role of fairness, transparency, and feedback in driving motivation and performance among employees in incentive-based roles"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Cunningham, Christopher J. L.","O'Leary, Brian J.; Guo, Feng","College of Arts and Sciences"],"dc:creator":["Gibbs, Wesley C."],"dc:date":["2026-05-01T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description":["Dept. of Psychology","M. S.; A thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Science."],"dc:description.abstract":["Pay transparency legislation and heightened employee expectations have made fair, transparent reward systems a strategic priority. Guided by Equity Theory and Expectancy Theory, this study examined how perceived pay fairness, reward transparency, and feedback quality explained self-determined work motivation among incentive-based employees, and whether relationships varied by career stage. Data were collected from two independent samples in incentive-based roles: an internet-based pool (N = 295) and employees from a large southeastern U.S. manufacturing organization (N = 91). Hierarchical multiple regression and moderation analyses revealed perceived pay fairness was a significant positive predictor of motivation in both samples. Reward transparency predicted motivation in Sample 1 but did not replicate in Sample 2. Feedback quality functioned as a direct predictor rather than a moderator. Professional experience did not moderate any compensation-motivation relationships. Findings underscore the importance of fair, transparent, feedback-rich reward systems and suggest motivational effects generalize across career stages."],"dc:identifier":["https://scholar.utc.edu/theses/1059"],"dc:language":["English","eng"],"dc:publisher":["University of Tennessee at Chattanooga","Chattanooga (Tenn.)"],"dc:relation":["Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations"],"dc:rights":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"dc:subject":["Employee morale","Employee motivation","Incentive awards"],"dc:title":["The role of fairness, transparency, and feedback in driving motivation and performance among employees in incentive-based roles"],"dc:type":["Masters theses","Text"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:47:28Z"}