Cooperation in the Cockpit: Evidence of Reciprocity and Trust among Swiss Air Force Pilots

Beat Hedinger () and Lorenz Goette ()
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Beat Hedinger: Institute for Strategy and Business Economics, University of Zurich

No 66, Working Papers from University of Zurich, Institute for Strategy and Business Economics (ISU)

Abstract: Cooperation between workers is important for firms. Cooperation can be maintained through positive or negative reciprocity between workers. In an environment where cooperation yields high efficiency gains negative reciprocity may, however, result in high costs for firms. Therefore positive reciprocity should be prevailing in these environments. To test this assumption we conduct experiments with Swiss Air Force pilots and a student reference group. We find that pilots’ cooperation is based on stronger positive reciprocal behaviour. We conclude that Swiss Air Force pilots maintain team-work with high levels of positive reciprocity, regardless of the identity of their partner.

Keywords: Trust; Reciprocity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C9 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cba, nep-cbe, nep-exp, nep-lab and nep-soc
Date: 2006-10

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Persistent link: http://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:iso:wpaper:0066

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