Whereas Earley (1988) suggested that English employees were not particularly
responsive to contingent reward, our own study reveals that contingent reward may
actually work effectively within consultative leadership practises. However, contingent
reward does not thrive well within directive, participative and delegative leadership
styles. It should perhaps be stated that our own sample of UK workers was collected
from Welsh, Scottish, Irish and English workers and not just from English workers as
was the case in Earley’s own research.
Although Gill (1997) in his cross-cultural studies suggested that extrinsic rewards,
rather than intrinsic ones, are more effective in motivating Southeast Asian workers,
we do not have a direct comparison with our own study. However, we found in our
study that within the leadership behaviour type of contingent reward, workers’
satisfaction with their own performance is significant. This finding may reflect their
love for independence and a desire to have an individual rather than a group
recognition system in their work establishments.