Financial Incentives and Prosocial Motivation Among Physicians in a Faith-Based Society

Abstract

How do healthcare professionals respond to financial incentive within mission-driven public hospitals in a faith-based society? This paper challenges previous research findings that healthcare professionals in mission-driven hospitals are prosocially motivated to serve the poor patients, and that performance-based financial incentives tend to crowd out such motivation. We used data from fifty-six interviews with healthcare professionals from three tertiary public teaching hospitals in Peshawar, Pakistan, to investigate the effect of a performance-related pay scheme. We found that the high professional standards and strong religious beliefs of the physicians were key to maintaining their prosocial motivation to serve the poor patients in their communities. We conclude that financial incentive does not always erode prosocial motivation in public-sector organizations, and that prosocial motivation itself may be determined by professional and social context.

Keywords:

• extrinsic motivation
• faith-based society
• healthcare professionals
• performance-based financial incentives
• prosocial motivation

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Farooq Ahmad

Farooq Ahmad is a lecturer in the field of HRM and OB at Siena College. He is a government advisor on public healthcare reform in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan. He has vast experience of teaching and research at several academic institutions, including the University of Southampton, Imperial College London and the University of Winchester, UK. He received his PhD from the University of Southampton. He obtained his MSc from Bradford School of Management, University of Bradford and MBA from Liverpool Business School, UK. His research interests lie in international HRM, employment relationships in public institutions, work motivation in public institutions and reform in public healthcare institutions.

Edgar Meyer

Edgar Meyer (PhD) is Dean of the Birmingham Business School, University of Birmingham. Prior to his appointment at Leeds, he was Professor of HRM and OB at Southampton Business School, University of Southampton, where he also led the suite of MBA programmes. Edgar has delivered numerous lectures across the Globe and his research interest center around leadership and teams, as well as the way in which individuals and organizations learn. Edgar is a member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

Malcolm Higgs

Malcolm Higgs (DBA, MPhil, Chartered Psych) is Professor of Leadership at Birmingham City University and Emeritus Professor of Organization Behavior and HRM at Southampton Business School, University of Southampton. Before joining Birmingham City University, Malcolm held the post of Director of the Business School at Southampton, and held posts at Henley Business School including: Academic Dean, Director of the Leadership Group and Research Director. He has published a number of books and over 150 academic journal papers on topics related to Leadership, Emotional Intelligence, Change Management and Team Behavior and is coauthor of psychometric tests relating to Emotional Intelligence and Leadership.