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Gift Exchange in the Workplace: Money or Attention?

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Author Info
Dur, Robert () (Erasmus University Rotterdam)

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Abstract

We develop a model of manager-employee relationships where employees care more for their manager when they are more convinced that their manager cares for them. Managers can signal their altruistic feelings towards their employees in two ways: by offering a generous wage and by giving attention. Contrary to the traditional gift-exchange hypothesis, we show that altruistic managers may offer lower wages and nevertheless build up better social-exchange relationships with their employees than egoistic managers do. In such equilibria, a low wage signals to employees that the manager has something else to offer − namely, a lot of attention − which will induce the employee to stay at the firm and work hard. Our predictions are well in line with some recent empirical findings about gift exchange in the field.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in its series IZA Discussion Papers with number 3839.

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Date of creation: Nov 2008
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Publication status: forthcoming in: Journal of the European Economic Association
Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp3839

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Related research
Keywords: gift exchange; sabotage; extra-role behavior; wages; manager-employee relationships; social exchange; conditional altruism; reciprocity; signaling game;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
D86 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Economics of Contract Law
J41 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Labor Contracts
M50 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting - - Personnel Economics - - - General
M54 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting - - Personnel Economics - - - Labor Management
M55 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting - - Personnel Economics - - - Labor Contracting Devices

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Ernst Fehr & Simon Gaechter, . "Fairness and Retaliation: The Economics of Reciprocitys," IEW - Working Papers iewwp040, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. Uri Gneezy & John A List, 2006. "Putting Behavioral Economics to Work: Testing for Gift Exchange in Labor Markets Using Field Experiments," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 74(5), pages 1365-1384, 09. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  3. Rotemberg, Julio J., 2008. "Minimally acceptable altruism and the ultimatum game," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 66(3-4), pages 457-476, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  4. Akerlof, George A, 1982. "Labor Contracts as Partial Gift Exchange," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 97(4), pages 543-69, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Heike Hennig-Schmidt & Bettina Rockenbach & Abdolkarim Sadrieh, 2008. "In Search of Workers' Real Effort Reciprocity - A Field and a Laboratory Experiment," Discussion Papers 238, SFB/TR 15 Governance and the Efficiency of Economic Systems, Free University of Berlin, Humboldt University of Berlin, University of Bonn, University of Mannheim, University of Munich. [Downloadable!]
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  6. Prendergast, Canice & Stole, Lars, 2001. "The non-monetary nature of gifts," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 45(10), pages 1793-1810, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Fehr, Ernst & Kirchsteiger, George & Riedl, Arno, 1993. "Does Fairness Prevent Market Clearing? An Experimental Investigation," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 108(2), pages 437-59, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Tore Ellingsen & Magnus Johannesson, 2008. "Pride and Prejudice: The Human Side of Incentive Theory," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 98(3), pages 990-1008, June. [Downloadable!]
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  9. Wolfgang Pesendorfer & Faruk Gul, 2007. "The Canonical Space for Behavioral Types," Levine's Bibliography 843644000000000345, UCLA Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  10. Rotemberg, Julio J., 2006. "Altruism, reciprocity and cooperation in the workplace," Handbook on the Economics of Giving, Reciprocity and Altruism, Elsevier. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Campbell, Carl M, III & Kamlani, Kunal S, 1997. "The Reasons for Wage Rigidity: Evidence from a Survey of Firms," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 112(3), pages 759-89, August.
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Susanne Neckermann & Reto Cueni & Bruno S. Frey, 2009. "What is an award worth? An econometric assessment of the impact of awards on employee performance," IEW - Working Papers iewwp411, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. Robert Dur & Hein Roelfsema, 2006. "Social Exchange and Common Agency in Organizations," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 06-111/1, Tinbergen Institute, revised 15 Oct 2008. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
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