Private versus Public Feedback - The Incentive Effects of Symbolic Awards

Leonie Gerhards (lgerhards@econ.au.dk) and Neele Siener
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Leonie Gerhards: Department of Economics and Business, Aarhus University, Denmark, Postal: 8210 Aarhus V, Denmark
Neele Siener: Goethe-University Frankfurt

Economics Working Papers from Department of Economics and Business Economics, Aarhus University

Abstract: We experimentally compare the incentive effects of rewarding individuals for outstanding performance publicly versus privately. We implement two real-effort tasks, which differ in how prestigious subjects perceive working on them. In both tasks private and public feedback similarly enhances subjects' performance compared to the control treatment. Also high ability and a positive interim feedback increase performance. Competitive preferences matter only in the less prestigious task. Subjects' gender and overconfidence can in neither of the tasks explain performance. In a supplementary field experiment at a secondary school we furthermore compare the incentive effects of different forms of public recognition.

Keywords: Private feedback; public feedback; relative performance; competitive preferences; laboratory experiment; field experiment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C91 C93 D03 J33 M12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 45
Date: 2014-01-10
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cbe, nep-cta, nep-exp, nep-hrm and nep-lab
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (16)

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