Reputational Concerns and Advice-Seeking at Work

Arbeitspapier

We examine the impact of reputational concerns on seeking advice. While seeking can improve performance, it may affect how others perceive the seeker's competence. In an online experiment with white-collar professionals (N=2,521), we test how individuals navigate this tradeoff and if others' beliefs about competence change it. We manipulate visibility of the decision to seek and stereotypes about competence. Results show a sizable and inefficient decline in advice-seeking when visible to a manager. Higher-order beliefs about competence cannot mediate this inefficiency. We find no evidence that managers interpret advice-seeking negatively, documenting a misconception that may hinder knowledge flows in organizations.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: Discussion Paper ; No. 447

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Collaborative Consumption‡ ; Firm Behavior: Theory ; Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness ; Micro-Based Behavioral Economics: Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making‡ ; Personnel Economics: Firm Employment Decisions; Promotions
• Subject: advice-seeking ; reputational concerns ; stereotypes ; higher-order beliefs ; knowledge flows ; experiment

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Heursen, Lea ; Friess, Svenja ; Chugunova, Marina
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München und Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Collaborative Research Center Transregio 190 - Rationality and Competition
• (where): München und Berlin
• (when): 2023

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/282138
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:43 AM CET