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Social closeness can help, harm and be irrelevant in solving pure coordination problems

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  • Gächter, Simon
  • Starmer, Chris
  • Thöni, Christian
  • Tufano, Fabio
  • Weber, Till O.

Abstract

Experimental research has shown that ordinary people often perform remarkably well in solving coordination games that involve no conflicts of interest. While most experiments in the past studied such coordination games among socially distant anonymous players, here we study behaviour in a set of two player coordination games and compare the outcomes depending on whether the players are socially close or socially distant. We find that social closeness influences prospects for coordination, but whether it helps, harms, or has no impact on coordination probabilities, depends on the structure of the game.

Suggested Citation

  • Gächter, Simon & Starmer, Chris & Thöni, Christian & Tufano, Fabio & Weber, Till O., 2022. "Social closeness can help, harm and be irrelevant in solving pure coordination problems," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 216(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolet:v:216:y:2022:i:c:s0165176522001562
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2022.110552
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    Cited by:

    1. Simon Gaechter & Chris Starmer & Fabio Tufano, 2022. "Measuring "Group Cohesion" to Reveal the Power of Social Relationships in Team Production," CESifo Working Paper Series 9936, CESifo.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Coordination; Lab-in-the-field experiment; Oneness; Salience; Social closeness; Social distance;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C72 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - Noncooperative Games
    • C92 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Group Behavior
    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments

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