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Does appointing team leaders and shaping leadership styles increase effort? Evidence from a field experiment

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  • Chemin, Matthieu

Abstract

This paper presents the results of a randomized experiment varying the method of selection of team leaders (appointment versus self-selection), the characteristics of the appointed leaders and their leadership styles. I find that appointing high-ability and hard-working leaders increases effort, knowledge-sharing and team performance. I find even greater effects for another intervention that attempted to shape leadership style by providing detailed instructions on how to coordinate the team based on previous observation of free-riders’ behavior in teams. This indicates that the coordinating abilities of leaders are particularly important in a context of a non-routine cognitive task where knowledge spillovers and the flow of creative ideas are required.

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  • Chemin, Matthieu, 2021. "Does appointing team leaders and shaping leadership styles increase effort? Evidence from a field experiment," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 186(C), pages 12-32.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:186:y:2021:i:c:p:12-32
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2021.02.014
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Leaders; Leadership style; Effort in teams;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General

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