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Friendliness pays off! Monetary and Immaterial Gifts in Consumer-Salesperson Interactions

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  • Stefan Palan
  • Michael Kirchler

Abstract

Recent studies find ample evidence that monetary and immaterial gifts influence effort in the workplace. We investigate the impacts of monetary gift exchange and of expressions of respect on salespersons' reciprocity when purchasing doner durum, a common lunch snack. Prior to the food's preparation, we either induce monetary gift exchange by tipping or explore the role of respect by making a compliment. We repeat the interaction on five consecutive days. Our findings show that salespersons exhibit positive reciprocity in response both to a monetary gift and to compliments regarding the product. The "compliment-effect" furthermore increases with repeated visits.

Suggested Citation

  • Stefan Palan & Michael Kirchler, 2014. "Friendliness pays off! Monetary and Immaterial Gifts in Consumer-Salesperson Interactions," Working Papers 2014-31, Faculty of Economics and Statistics, Universität Innsbruck.
    • Handle: RePEc:inn:wpaper:2014-31
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Michel André Maréchal & Christian Thöni, 2019. "Hidden Persuaders: Do Small Gifts Lubricate Business Negotiations?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 65(8), pages 3877-3888, August.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    gift exchange; respect; natural field experiment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D01 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Microeconomic Behavior: Underlying Principles
    • D03 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Behavioral Microeconomics: Underlying Principles

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