The effects of reward schemes, individualism-collectivism, and intrinsic motivation on teams' creative performance

This study tests predictions driven from two competing theories regarding the effects that rewards have on creative performance and task motivation. Cognitive Evaluation Theory (CET) claims that external rewards are detrimental to intrinsic motivation (IM) and creativity, and more so when rewards are expected, tangible, and performance-contingent because they shift self-attribution to extrinsic causes. Neo-behaviorist models suggest that rewards decrease IM and creative behavior only when they are tangible and non-contingent on performance. The present study was the first to test these theories in a group-performance context. To further explore variables that may be responsible for the contradictory results in past studies, I examined the possibility that Individualism-Collectivism (I-C), assessed here as a personality variable, would interact with reward types to affect creative performance and motivation. 340 students worked in small groups simulating project teams under one of three reward conditions: individual performance reward (IR), group performance reward (GR), and performance non-contingent reward (PNR). Situational motivation was assessed for two tasks requiring creativity: generation of product improvement ideas (PI), which was performed in individual setting, and creation of slogans for marketing the new product, a task performed in team setting. The interaction of rewards X I-C had significant effects only on group creativity, albeit in a different direction to the predicted. IR resulted in higher IM than PNR and GR, while PNR individuals were significantly more creative on the individual creativity task then GR individuals. GR and PNR teams displayed significantly higher group creativity than IR teams. IM and cohesiveness partially mediated some of the effects of rewards on creativity. The need to incorporate task type and group context in theories of motivation and creativity is discussed, as well as implications for designing incentive and motivation systems to enhance creativity in the workplace.