Publications
Publications
- November 2020
- HBS Case Collection
Social Salary Setting at Spiber
By: Ashley Whillans and John Beshears
Abstract
This case tells the story of Spiber, a Japanese technology start-up company. To reflect the company’s values, the leadership team implemented a new and unique salary-setting process: each employee had the authority to choose their own salary. In the course of discussing the case, students are asked to contemplate the challenges that managers face when incentivizing innovation and are invited to brainstorm methods for motivating the behaviors that drive innovation. Students consider the merits of Spiber’s new compensation system and reflect on issues of pay equity. The case allows for a rich discussion regarding the design of effective and fair compensation systems, with a special emphasis on exploring how organizational culture and the broader social and cultural context in which an organization is embedded shape employees’ responses to compensation systems.
Keywords
Compensation; General Management; Employee Benefits; Incentives; Motivation; Compensation and Benefits; Fairness; Motivation and Incentives; Management; Happiness; Negotiation; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Japan
Citation
Whillans, Ashley, and John Beshears. "Social Salary Setting at Spiber." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 921-014, November 2020.
About The Authors
