Abstract
Reward has links to employee attraction and retention and as such has a role to
play in managing talent. However, despite a range of research, there is still lack of clarity on
employee preferences relating to reward.
Research purpose: The purpose of the research was to recommend and appraise a theoretical
model of the relationship between occupational culture dimensions and reward preferences of
specific occupational groups in the South African context.
Motivation for the study: The motivation for this study was to address the gap that exists with
reward preferences and occupational culture with a view to identifying and gaining insight
into individual preferences.
Research design, approach and method: A structural equation modelling approach was adopted
in exploring the proposed relationships. A South African Information, Communication, and
Technology (ICT) organisation served as the population, and a web-based survey assisted in
gathering study data (n = 1362).
Main findings: The findings provided support for the relationship between occupational
culture dimensions and certain reward preferences. In particular, statistically significant results
were obtained with the inclusion of the Environment, Team, and Time occupational culture
dimensions as independent variables.
Practical implications and value-add: The study provides workable input to organisations
and reward professionals in the design of their reward strategies and programmes.