ABSTRACT
This chapter shows that the analogous effects of the structure of competition in science exist at the local-institutional level where the individual researcher carries out his work and where the reward he seeks is organizational rank and its associated perquisites. It describes the workings of the actual reward structures in the authors' two local institutions. The chapter shows what characteristics are related to the achievement of high rank. It demonstrates that researchers who are relatively deprived by the local reward system in that they have not been rewarded with higher rank after achieving on one or more of the criteria on which promotion is based are more likely to be involved in studies with less favorable risks-benefits ratios. The chapter shows that the reward systems in the two local institutions are multidimensional. It suggests that the researchers make choices as to the means of achieving rank they will emphasize.
