Relationships among self-efficacy, pay-for-performance perceptions, and pay satisfaction: A Korean examination

Abstract

This study is an effort to extend our understanding of the antecedents of pay satisfaction, particularly in multiple South Korean firms. We first examine the impact of self-efficacy on overall pay satisfaction and three of its subdimensions: satisfaction with pay level, satisfaction with benefits, and satisfaction with pay structure/administration. Next, we assess the moderating effects of pay-for-performance perceptions on the relationship between self-efficacy and pay satisfaction. Results from 256 employees in four South Korean companies support the proposed hypotheses that self-efficacy is negatively related to overall pay satisfaction and its three subdimensions. We also found support for the moderating role of pay-for-performance perceptions on the self-efficacy-pay satisfaction relations, for all pay satisfaction subdimensions except pay-level satisfaction. We discuss implications, future research directions, and limitations of this study.