Unequal Pay, Unequal Responses? Pay Referents and their Implications for Pay Level Satisfaction

Michelle Brown

Journal of Management Studies, 2001, vol. 38, issue 6, 879-886

Abstract: Pay referents are those with whom workers make pay comparisons. The five referents used in this study are: market, organizational, financial, social and historical. Of particular interest is the importance attached to each of these referents and the implications of inequity (under and over) for pay level satisfaction. The study also examines reactions to pay inequity on the basis of union status. The data for the study derive from a survey of 2867 public sector research workers. The study finds that the market referent is the most important to all workers, irrespective of union status; type of inequity (over or under) with this referent has the greatest impact on pay level satisfaction. The paper concludes with an examination of the implications for management, unions and the design of pay systems.

Date: 2001
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