When perception is reality, there is more than one reality: The formation and effects of pay‐for‐performance perceptions
整合解释水平理论、期望理论等，提出员工在复杂绩效薪酬体系下会形成不同抽象程度的感知，并影响激励效果，对薪酬设计与管理者有参考价值。
Abstract Compensation research has generally considered pay‐for‐performance (PFP) perceptions in terms of how people react to only a single PFP form or PFP systems as a whole, regardless of the complexity of the compensation system pertaining to the individual. Synthesizing construal level theory, expectancy theory, compensation activation theory, and Call and Ployhart's (2020) theory of firm value capture from employee job performance, we provide insights into how employees develop PFP perceptions when they are covered by a complex PFP system. We propose that (1) individuals shape PFP perceptions at different levels of mental construals, ranging from concrete to abstract; (2) concrete conceptualizations lead to specific, detailed, multidimensional perceptions of PFP system elements (i.e., expectancy, instrumentality, valence, and incentive‐intensity) while abstract conceptualizations lead to more general perceptions with fewer perceived dimensions; (3) an individual's construal level can change over time because of characteristics of the PFP system as well as external events, and (4) construal levels have different implications for PFP system effectiveness at the individual and organizational levels. We also discuss how this theoretical approach provides a structure for enhancing our understanding of modern pay practices that helps to close the gap that currently exists between compensation theory and practice.