Effects of Evaluation Dimension and Social Comparison on Choices of Allocation Principles

Eek, D., & Selart, M. Effects of Evaluation Dimension and Social Comparison on Choices of Allocation Principles, Göteborg Psychological Reports, 2004, 34, No. 1. A group of 49 undergraduate business school and 46 undergraduate psychology students and a group of 95 employees at different companies responded to a number of case-based organizational allocation tasks. Imagining themselves as employees in the organizations described, participants chose the fairest and the best out of four allocations in either a collectively or an individually framed organizational culture. Furthermore, social comparisons between different groups in the organizations were salient for half of the participants. It was predicted that evaluations on the fairness dimension, social comparison, and a collectively oriented organizational culture would increase choices of an equal allocation. It was also predicted that evaluations on the preference dimension, non-social comparison, and an individually oriented organizational culture would increase choices of non-equality distributions (i.e., maximization, pro-self, or pro-other). Results supported all predictions except those for organizational culture.