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Do people tip because of psychological or strategic motivations? An empirical analysis of restaurant tipping

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  • Ofer Azar

Abstract

One of the most interesting and central questions about tipping is why people tip. The two major potential reasons are strategic behaviour aimed to ensure good future service and social/psychological motivations. Data on tipping behaviour suggests that there is no positive effect of patronage frequency on the sensitivity of tips to service quality. This implies that people tip only because of social and psychological motivations, and not because of strategic reasons and future service considerations.

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  • Ofer Azar, 2010. "Do people tip because of psychological or strategic motivations? An empirical analysis of restaurant tipping," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(23), pages 3039-3044.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:applec:v:42:y:2010:i:23:p:3039-3044
    DOI: 10.1080/00036840801964831
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Ofer H. Azar & Yossi Tobol, 2008. "Tipping as a Strategic Investment in Service Quality: An Optimal-Control Analysis of Repeated Interactions in the Service Industry," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 75(1), pages 246-260, July.
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    Cited by:

    1. Ge, Qi, 2018. "Sports sentiment and tipping behavior," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 95-113.
    2. Schlüter, Achim & Vollan, Björn, 2015. "Flowers and an honour box: Evidence on framing effects," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 186-199.
    3. Dyussembayeva, Shynar & Viglia, Giampaolo & Nieto-Garcia, Marta & Mattila, Anna S., 2022. "Would you like to add a gratuity? When explicit requests hamper tipping," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 908-917.
    4. Kakkar, Vikas & Li, King King, 2022. "Cash or card? Impression management and restaurant tipping behavior," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    5. Antonios Avgeris & Panagiota Sergaki & Achilleas Kontogeorgos & Antonios Tiganis, 2020. "Reciprocity in Student Groups: Experimental Evidence from Greece," International Journal of Economic Sciences, International Institute of Social and Economic Sciences, vol. 9(1), pages 44-67, June.
    6. Saunders, Stephen G. & Lynn, Michael, 2010. "Why tip? An empirical test of motivations for tipping car guards," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 106-113, February.
    7. Hoover, Hanna, 2022. "Nudges as norms: Evidence from the NYC taxi cab industry," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    8. Michal Kvasnička, 2018. "What Motivates Restaurant Customers to Tip: Evidence from the Czech Republic," Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis, Mendel University Press, vol. 66(1), pages 273-282.

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