IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/randje/v54y2023i2p299-324.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Who fares better in teamwork?

Author

Listed:
  • Huseyin Yildirim

Abstract

This article establishes a tenuous link between ability and relative well‐being in teamwork. It shows that higher‐ability or lower‐cost members can easily fare worse than their lower‐ability counterparts due to free‐riding. The extent of free‐riding hinges crucially on log‐concavity of effort cost, which its convexity restricts little. The article further shows how to compose teams that allocate effort efficiently and equalize payoffs in equilibrium. Efficient teams must have sufficiently diverse abilities and sizes at most the number of cost log‐inflections plus one. These findings can explain the evidence of a significant dislike for teamwork in the workplace and classroom.

Suggested Citation

  • Huseyin Yildirim, 2023. "Who fares better in teamwork?," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 54(2), pages 299-324, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:randje:v:54:y:2023:i:2:p:299-324
    DOI: 10.1111/1756-2171.12438
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/1756-2171.12438
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/1756-2171.12438?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gill, David & Stone, Rebecca, 2015. "Desert and inequity aversion in teams," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 42-54.
    2. Eyal Winter, 2004. "Incentives and Discrimination," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(3), pages 764-773, June.
    3. Parimal Kanti Bag & Nona Pepito, 2012. "Peer Transparency In Teams: Does It Help Or Hinder Incentives?," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 53(4), pages 1257-1286, November.
    4. Tom Lee & Louis L. Wilde, 1980. "Market Structure and Innovation: A Reformulation," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 94(2), pages 429-436.
    5. Leslie M. Marx & Steven A. Matthews, 2000. "Dynamic Voluntary Contribution to a Public Project," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 67(2), pages 327-358.
    6. Segal, Ilya, 2003. "Coordination and discrimination in contracting with externalities: divide and conquer?," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 113(2), pages 147-181, December.
    7. Bose, Arup & Pal, Debashis & Sappington, David E.M., 2010. "Asymmetric treatment of identical agents in teams," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(7), pages 947-961, October.
    8. Franco, April Mitchell & Mitchell, Matthew & Vereshchagina, Galina, 2011. "Incentives and the structure of teams," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 146(6), pages 2307-2332.
    9. Jean-Jacques Laffont & Jean Tirole, 1993. "A Theory of Incentives in Procurement and Regulation," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262121743, December.
    10. T. Renee Bowen & George Georgiadis & Nicolas S. Lambert, 2019. "Collective Choice in Dynamic Public Good Provision," American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 11(1), pages 243-298, February.
    11. Ayca Kaya & Galina Vereshchagina, 2014. "Partnerships versus Corporations: Moral Hazard, Sorting, and Ownership Structure," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(1), pages 291-307, January.
    12. Subhra K. Bhattacharya & Oleksiy Tokovenko & Kavita Sardana, 2017. "Heterogeneity, impatience, and dynamic private provision of a discrete public good," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 19(6), pages 1069-1080, December.
    13. Ozerturk, Saltuk & Yildirim, Huseyin, 2021. "Credit attribution and collaborative work," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 195(C).
    14. Eyal Winter, 2010. "Transparency and incentives among peers," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 41(3), pages 504-523, September.
    15. Steven Postrel, 2002. "Islands of Shared Knowledge: Specialization and Mutual Understanding in Problem-Solving Teams," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 13(3), pages 303-320, June.
    16. George Georgiadis, 2015. "Projects and Team Dynamics," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 82(1), pages 187-218.
    17. Benjamin F. Jones, 2021. "The Rise of Research Teams: Benefits and Costs in Economics," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 35(2), pages 191-216, Spring.
    18. Compte, Olivier & Jehiel, Philippe, 2003. "Voluntary contributions to a joint project with asymmetric agents," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 112(2), pages 334-342, October.
    19. Bel, Roland & Smirnov, Vladimir & Wait, Andrew, 2015. "Team composition, worker effort and welfare," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 1-8.
    20. Anat R. Admati & Motty Perry, 1991. "Joint Projects without Commitment," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 58(2), pages 259-276.
    21. Sebastian G. Kessing, 2007. "Strategic Complementarity in the Dynamic Private Provision of a Discrete Public Good," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 9(4), pages 699-710, August.
    22. Bergstrom, Theodore & Blume, Lawrence & Varian, Hal, 1986. "On the private provision of public goods," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 25-49, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ozerturk, Saltuk & Yildirim, Huseyin, 2021. "Credit attribution and collaborative work," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 195(C).
    2. Sebastien Rouillon, 2018. "Noncooperative Dynamic Contribution to a Public Project," International Game Theory Review (IGTR), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 20(03), pages 1-24, September.
    3. May Elsayyad & Florian Morath, 2016. "Technology Transfers For Climate Change," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 57(3), pages 1057-1084, August.
    4. Georgiadis, George, 2017. "Deadlines and infrequent monitoring in the dynamic provision of public goods," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 1-12.
    5. Altınok, Ahmet & Yılmaz, Murat, 2018. "Dynamic voluntary contribution to a public project under time inconsistency," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 114-140.
    6. Wioletta Dziuda & Ronen Gradwohl, 2015. "Achieving Cooperation under Privacy Concerns," American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 7(3), pages 142-173, August.
    7. Bel, Roland & Smirnov, Vladimir & Wait, Andrew, 2015. "Team composition, worker effort and welfare," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 1-8.
    8. Matros, Alexander & Smirnov, Vladimir, 2016. "Duplicative search," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 1-22.
    9. Tajika, Tomoya, 2020. "Contribute once! Full efficiency in a dynamic contribution game," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 228-239.
    10. Colombo, Luca & Labrecciosa, Paola & Van Long, Ngo, 2022. "A dynamic analysis of international environmental agreements under partial cooperation," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    11. Jakša Cvitanić & George Georgiadis, 2016. "Achieving Efficiency in Dynamic Contribution Games," American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 8(4), pages 309-342, November.
    12. Bowen, T. Renee & Georgiadis, George & Lambert, Nicolas S., 2015. "Collective Choice in Dynamic Public Good Provision: Real versus Formal Authority," Research Papers 3346, Stanford University, Graduate School of Business.
    13. Cason, Timothy N. & Zubrickas, Robertas, 2019. "Donation-based crowdfunding with refund bonuses," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 452-471.
    14. Colombo, Luca & Labrecciosa, Paola & Long, Ngo Van, 2019. "A Dynamic Analysis of Climate Change Mitigation with Endogenous Number of Contributors: Loose vs Tight Cooperation," Discussion paper series HIAS-E-92, Hitotsubashi Institute for Advanced Study, Hitotsubashi University.
    15. de Roos, Nicolas & Matros, Alexander & Smirnov, Vladimir & Wait, Andrew, 2018. "Shipwrecks and treasure hunters," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 259-283.
    16. George Georgiadis & Steven A. Lippman & Christopher S. Tang, 2014. "Project design with limited commitment and teams," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 45(3), pages 598-623, September.
    17. Roi Zultan & Eva-Maria Steiger, 2011. "See No Evil: Information Chains and Reciprocity in Teams," Working Papers 1108, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Department of Economics.
    18. Parimal Kanti Bag & Nona Pepito, 2012. "Peer Transparency In Teams: Does It Help Or Hinder Incentives?," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 53(4), pages 1257-1286, November.
    19. Matros, Alexander & Ponomareva, Natalia & Smirnov, Vladimir & Wait, Andrew, 2019. "Search without observability," Working Papers 2019-04, University of Sydney, School of Economics.
    20. Arbel, Yuval & Bar-El, Ronen & Schwarz, Mordechai E. & Tobol, Yossef, 2014. "Voluntary Contributions to the Establishment and Operation of Public Goods: Theory and Experimental Evidence," IZA Discussion Papers 8532, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:randje:v:54:y:2023:i:2:p:299-324. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/randdus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.