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Testing for Team Spirit - An Experimental Study

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  • Rupert Sausgruber

    (University of Innsbruck)

Abstract

It is often suggested that team spirit counteracts free-riding. Testing for team spirit with field data is difficult, however, due to an inherent identification problem. In this paper test for team spirit experimentally. In a team work task we vary subjects' information about relative team performance while we leave unchanged the structure of explicit incentives. We find that subjects contribute more to their team's project when teams observe each others' performance. We attribute this result to the enhancement of team spirit caused by asymmetric peer effects between observing teams.

Suggested Citation

  • Rupert Sausgruber, 2005. "Testing for Team Spirit - An Experimental Study," Experimental 0508001, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:wpa:wuwpex:0508001
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Simon Gächter & Daniele Nosenzo & Martin Sefton, 2012. "The Impact of Social Comparisons on Reciprocity," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 114(4), pages 1346-1367, December.
    2. Alwine Mohnen & Kathrin Pokorny & Dirk Sliwka, 2008. "Transparency, Inequity Aversion, and the Dynamics of Peer Pressure in Teams: Theory and Evidence," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 26(4), pages 693-720, October.
    3. Uschi Backes-Gellner & Arndt Werner & Alwine Mohnen, 2005. "Effort Provision in Entrepreneurial Teams: Effects of Team Size, Free-Riding and Peer Pressure," Working Papers 0054, University of Zurich, Institute for Strategy and Business Economics (ISU), revised Sep 2014.
    4. Frey, Bruno S. & Torgler, Benno, 2007. "Tax morale and conditional cooperation," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 136-159, March.
    5. Bruno S. Frey & Benno Torgler, 2004. "Taxation and Conditional Taxation," Working Papers 2004/7, Institut d'Economia de Barcelona (IEB).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    team spirit; peer effects; organization of work; public goods experiments;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C92 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Group Behavior
    • H41 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Public Goods
    • J2 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor

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