Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods Commons^™

Motivating Employee Referrals: The Interactive Effects Of The Referral Bonus, Perceived Risk In Referring, And Affective Commitment, Jenna R. Pieper, Jessica M. Greenwald, Steven D. Schlachter

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

Research has provided compelling evidence that employee referrals result in positive outcomes for organizations and job seekers, but it has been limited on how organizations can increase the likelihood of obtaining employee referrals. Using the theoretical lens of social exchange theory and tenets from expectancy theory, we tested two common assumptions of most employers: A referral bonus motivates employees to refer, and higher bonus amounts incite greater likelihood of referring. We theoretically developed and tested a model integrating the effects of perceived risk in referring and affective commitment and their interactions with the referral bonus to better explain the likelihood …