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(Dis-)honesty: Measuring overcharging in a real-world market

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  • Conrads, Julian
  • Ebeling, Felix
  • Lotz, Sebastian

Abstract

The present research investigates the occurrence of honest vs. dishonest behavior in a real-world competitive retail market involving the sales of loose candy that is priced according to a pay-per-weight scheme. Our results provide evidence for a high degree of honesty among sellers. There are only a few cases of overcharging, in particular when scales are hidden from the buyer (Study 1). Further details suggest that many sellers are consistently honest over repeated sales, and that honesty is robust to the appearance of the buyer or the amount that was purchased (Study 2). We discuss sellers’ concerns for reputation as a plausible explanation for our results.

Suggested Citation

  • Conrads, Julian & Ebeling, Felix & Lotz, Sebastian, 2015. "(Dis-)honesty: Measuring overcharging in a real-world market," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 98-102.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:soceco:v:57:y:2015:i:c:p:98-102
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socec.2015.05.003
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    Cited by:

    1. Vranka, Marek & Frollová, Nikola & Pour, Marek & Novakova, Julie & Houdek, Petr, 2019. "Cheating customers in grocery stores: A field study on dishonesty," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    2. Prochazka, Jakub & Fedoseeva, Yulia & Houdek, Petr, 2021. "A field experiment on dishonesty: A registered replication of Azar et al. (2013)," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    3. Dugar, Subhasish & Bhattacharya, Haimanti, 2017. "Fishy behavior: A field experiment on (dis)honesty in the marketplace," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 41-55.
    4. Bhattacharya, Haimanti & Dugar, Subhasish, 2023. "Undervaluation versus unaffordability as negotiation tactics: Evidence from a field experiment," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    5. Ferreira, Mark, 2017. "When knowledge is not power: Asymmetric information, probabilistic deceit detection and threats in ultimatum bargainingAuthor-Name: Chavanne, David," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 4-17.

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    Keywords

    Overcharging; Honesty; Markets;
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