Peers at work: Evidence from the lab

Artikel

This paper reports the results of a lab experiment designed to study the role of observability for peer effects in the setting of a simple production task. In our experiment, participants in the role of workers engage in a team real-effort task. We vary whether they can observe, or be observed by, one of their co-workers. In contrast to earlier findings from the field, we find no evidence that low-productivity workers perform better when they are observed by high-productivity co-workers. Instead, our results imply that peer effects in our experiment are heterogeneous, with some workers reciprocating a high-productivity co-worker but others taking the opportunity to free ride.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Journal: PLoS ONE ; ISSN: 1932-6203 ; Volume: 13 ; Year: 2018 ; Issue: 2 ; Pages: e0192038- ; San Francisco, CA: Public Library of Science

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Design of Experiments: Laboratory, Individual ; Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
• Subject: laboratory experiment ; peer group ; peer effects ; productivity ; work habits

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): van Veldhuizen, Roel ; Oosterbeek, Hessel ; Sonnemans, Joep
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Public Library of Science
• (where): San Francisco, CA
• (when): 2018

Further information

• DOI: doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0192038
• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/175846
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:44 AM CET