The interactive effect of positive inequity and regulatory focus on work performance

•We studied reactions to two forms of positive inequity: overpayment and having a job.•Participants' regulatory focus affected their reactions to positive inequity.•Positive inequity led to higher performance for promotion than prevention people.•The results contribute to the literatures on positive inequity and regulatory focus.

The present study examined how the work performance of promotion-focused people and prevention-focused people was affected by two different forms of positive inequity: overpayment and having a job. After completing an initial task, participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: (1) an Overpayment condition in which participants were told that they would receive greater payment than the other participant (who was actually a confederate) for doing the same work, (2) a Having a Job condition in which participants were assigned to have a job while the other participant (the confederate) was dismissed prematurely without compensation, and (3) a Control condition in which participants and the confederate were treated equitably. Relative to their prevention-focused counterparts, promotion-focused participants performed better in both the Overpayment and Having a Job conditions than in the Control condition. Theoretical implications are discussed.