Rewards are reinforcement mechanisms that organizations use to shape desirable employee behaviors. However, rewards may also have unintended consequences, such as building expectations for receiving extra benefits and weakening employee barriers to unethical acts. This article investigates the dark side of the reward–behavior association, and exploring what is referred to as the reward–theft parity effect (RTPE). The authors hypothesize that receiving rewards induces a corresponding type of theft. In Study 1, survey results (n = 634) show initial support for the RTPE between rewards and same-category theft, and that perceptions of procedural justice attenuate this association. Study 2 involved a 2 (reward) × 2 (theft opportunity) between-subjects experimental design (n = 300) and provides further support for the RTPE by revealing greater theft under a reward–theft parity condition than under a reward–theft disparity condition. Study 3 replicates these findings in a field experiment (n = 285) and finds that the RTPE is exacerbated when the reward–behavior task is perceived as unjust. Collectively, these findings provide new theoretical insights while also giving managers a more complete understanding of the dark side of behavioral reinforcement mechanisms.

中文翻译：

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奖励会诱发相应形式的盗窃吗？引入奖励盗窃平价效应

奖励是组织用来塑造理想员工行为的强化机制。然而，奖励也可能产生意想不到的后果，例如建立对获得额外福利的期望和削弱员工对不道德行为的障碍。本文调查了奖励-行为关联的阴暗面，并探索了所谓的奖励-盗窃平价效应 (RTPE)。作者假设接受奖励会引发相应类型的盗窃。在研究 1 中，调查结果 ( n  = 634) 显示了在奖励和同类别盗窃之间对 RTPE 的初步支持，并且对程序正义的看法削弱了这种关联。研究 2 涉及 2（奖励）×2（盗窃机会）的受试者间实验设计（n = 300）并通过在奖励-盗窃平价条件下比在奖励-盗窃差异条件下揭示更多盗窃来为 RTPE 提供进一步的支持。研究 3 在现场实验 ( n  = 285) 中复制了这些发现，并发现当奖励行为任务被视为不公正时，RTPE 会加剧。总的来说，这些发现提供了新的理论见解，同时也让管理者更全面地了解行为强化机制的阴暗面。