Reward Stability Promotes Group Commitment

A pressing problem for the social sciences is to understand the processes leading to commitment within organizational settings. Toward this end, we argue for the stability of rewards derived from groups as a key dimension of commitment. We present a theory that links reward stability to justice evaluations and corresponding emotional reactions, which in turn predict group commitment. From this theory, we derive several hypotheses, the key one being that justice evaluations and corresponding emotional reactions explain the effect of reward stability on commitment. To evaluate our theoretical predictions, we collect experimental data manipulating the stability of rewards through time in a group context. The results support the main tenets of the theory and also validate previously established findings. In addition to developing and testing a theory of reward stability and commitment, we discuss the implications of our theory for organizational and government policies.