The role of negative affectivity in pay-at-risk reactions: a longitudinal study

In this article, the authors examine the moderating role of negative and positive affectivity on the relationship of bonus size with bonus satisfaction and distributive justice in a company that had installed an unpopular pay-at-risk (PAR) compensation system. Extending the met expectations hypothesis, the authors predict that those low in negative affectivity will show a more pronounced positive relationship between size of PAR bonus and bonus reactions than those high in negative affectivity. Conversely, the authors expect positive affectivity to be unrelated to pay reactions. The results support their hypotheses. Implications are discussed.