Keywords

wellness programs, incentives, gift cards, cash incentives, tangible rewards

Abstract

We examine organizational control in the context of wellness programs—organizational initiatives designed to improve the physical and mental health of employees. In a field study setting, we examine the associations of three different types of incentives (cash, gift cards, and tangible rewards) with wellness program performance. We find that employees who successfully complete program challenges are associated with greater weight loss. We also find participants choosing gift cards are associated with the greatest program success, even though cash rewards are selected more than twice as often as gift cards. Tangible rewards are the least frequently selected reward and are associated with lower performance than gift cards but relatively similar performance to cash. These results support theories of individual choice and motivation, and suggest that employees’ incentive choices are not necessarily aligned with the strongest motivational power.

Original Publication Citation

Heninger, W. G., S. D. Smith, and D. A. Wood. 2019. Reward type and management control: An examination of organizational wellness programs. Management Accounting Research, 44: 1-11. DOI: 10.1016/j.mar.2019.02.001.

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

2019

Publisher

Management Accounting Research

Language

English

College

Marriott School of Business

Department

Accountancy

University Standing at Time of Publication

Full Professor

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Accounting Commons

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