A Comparison of Individual and Group Behavior in a Competition with Cheating Opportunities

Astrid Dannenberg () and Elina Khachatryan ()
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Astrid Dannenberg: University of Kassel
Elina Khachatryan: University of Kassel

MAGKS Papers on Economics from Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung)

Abstract: While it is well established that individuals and groups make different economic decisions, the reasons for the behavioral differences are still not fully understood. We experimentally compare individual and group behavior in a competitive setting where cheating can be used to outperform the competitor. Our design allows us to exogenously control for the type of the decision maker, the type of the competitor, and expectations about the competitor's performance. The results show that there is much more cheating in inter-group competition than inter-individual competition which is in line with findings from other interactive games. We show furthermore that this difference is not caused by a higher propensity to cheat of groups per se, but instead by expectations about the competitor. Once we control for the type of the competitor and the decision makers' expectations, we no longer find differences between individuals and groups.

Keywords: individual behavior; group behavior; lying; honesty; competition (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C91 D63 H26 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 29 pages
Date: 2020
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cbe and nep-exp
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:mar:magkse:202003

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