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Paying for sanctions in social dilemmas: The effects of endowment asymmetry and accountability

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  • De Cremer, David
  • Dijk, Eric van

Abstract

The present research examines whether or not endowment asymmetry leads those with many endowments to contribute more than those with few endowments towards the public good (i.e., a first-order dilemma), but also towards the implementation of a sanctioning system (i.e., a second-order dilemma). In Experiment 1, we found that those with many endowments contributed more than those with few endowments in a public good dilemma without a sanctioning system present, whereas those with many endowments did not contribute more than those with few endowments toward the implementation of a sanctioning system. The latter effect, however, was eliminated when participants were accountable (i.e., when expectations that they would have to justify their decisions to others in the group were high). Experiment 2 showed that when participants were accountable, the contributions of those with many endowments (and not those with few endowments) toward the sanctioning system increased, but only when they perceived the group to be more self-evaluative in terms of morality (i.e., high-evaluation expectancy). Experiment 3 showed that this effect of evaluation expectancy only emerged when participants were accountable to the whole group rather than to only one group member.

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  • De Cremer, David & Dijk, Eric van, 2009. "Paying for sanctions in social dilemmas: The effects of endowment asymmetry and accountability," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 109(1), pages 45-55, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jobhdp:v:109:y:2009:i:1:p:45-55
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    5. de Cremer, D., 2009. "On Understanding the Human Nature of Good and Bad Behavior in Business: A Behavioral Ethics Approach," ERIM Inaugural Address Series Research in Management EIA-2009-041-ORG, Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM), ERIM is the joint research institute of the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University and the Erasmus School of Economics (ESE) at Erasmus University Rotterdam..
    6. Visser, Martine & Burns, Justine, 2013. "Inequality, Social Sanctions and Cooperation within South African Fishing," SALDRU Working Papers 117, Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit, University of Cape Town.
    7. Muhammad Usman & Ahmed Abdul Hameed & Shahid Manzoor, 2018. "Exploring the links between Ethical Leadership and Organizational Unlearning: A Case Study of a European Multinational Company," Business & Economic Review, Institute of Management Sciences, Peshawar, Pakistan, vol. 10(2), pages 28-54, June.
    8. Maliheh Mansouri & Julie Rowney, 2014. "The Dilemma of Accountability for Professionals: A Challenge for Mainstream Management Theories," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 123(1), pages 45-56, August.
    9. Wafa Tariq Waqar, 2020. "Board size and acquisition outcome: The moderating role of home country formal institutional development," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 41(4), pages 529-541, June.
    10. Catherine Molho & Daniel Balliet & Junhui Wu, 2019. "Hierarchy, Power, and Strategies to Promote Cooperation in Social Dilemmas," Games, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-15, February.
    11. Kaisa Herne & Olli Lappalainen & Maija Setälä & Juha Ylisalo, 2022. "Accountability as a Warrant for Trust: An Experiment on Sanctions and Justifications in a Trust Game," Theory and Decision, Springer, vol. 93(4), pages 615-648, November.
    12. Cadigan, John & Wayland, Patrick T. & Schmitt, Pamela & Swope, Kurtis, 2011. "An experimental dynamic public goods game with carryover," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 80(3), pages 523-531.
    13. Xiao, Erte, 2017. "Justification and conformity," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 15-28.
    14. Warren, Danielle E. & Schweitzer, Maurice E., 2021. "When weak sanctioning systems work: Evidence from auto insurance industry fraud investigations," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 166(C), pages 68-83.
    15. Carole L. Jurkiewicz & Robert A. Giacalone, 2016. "Organizational Determinants of Ethical Dysfunctionality," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 136(1), pages 1-12, June.
    16. Visser, M. & Burns, J., 2015. "Inequality, social sanctions and cooperation within South African fishing communities," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 95-109.
    17. Niek Hoogervorst & David Cremer & Marius Dijke, 2010. "Why Leaders Not Always Disapprove of Unethical Follower Behavior: It Depends on the Leader’s Self-Interest and Accountability," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 95(1), pages 29-41, September.
    18. Xiao, Erte, 2012. "Justification and cooperation," MPRA Paper 36120, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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