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Abstract
This paper designs a field experiment in a real job environment, which incorporates differential observability in a job with multiple tasks (quality and quantity) to study the effect of peer pressure on outputs. The treatment group was informed of each individual's output quality information, whereas the control group only knew the group mean. The treatment group produced better output quality but lower output quantity, implying that workers adjusted their efforts between tasks. After switching off the treatment, results from the follow-up experiment show that the output quality produced by the treatment group rolled back to the baseline low level, whereas their output quantity continued to decrease. These results suggest that peer pressure, as a tool for promoting workers' productivity, should be adopted with caution.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 847-867 |
Number of pages | 21 |
Journal | Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization |
Volume | 200 |
Early online date | 9 Jul 2022 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Aug 2022 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2022
Keywords
- Differential observability
- Peer effects
- Multiple tasks
- Field experiment
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Dive into the research topics of 'Observability and peer effects : Theory and evidence from a field experiment'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Projects
- 1 Finished
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Peer Effects and Observability: Theory and Experimental Evidence
FAN, C. Z. S. (PI), WEI, X. (CoI) & ZHANG, J. (CoI)
1/06/11 → 31/08/13
Project: Grant Research