Team production and gift exchange

Marta Ruiz-Delgado, Adriana Alventosa (), Miguel A. Meléndez-Jiménez () and Antonio J. Morales ()
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Marta Ruiz-Delgado: Programa de Doctorado en Economía y Empresa, Universidad de Málaga
Adriana Alventosa: ERI-CES, Universitat de València
Miguel A. Meléndez-Jiménez: Departamento de Teoría e Historia Económica, Universidad de Málaga
Antonio J. Morales: Departamento de Teoría e Historia Económica, Universidad de Málaga

No 2025-01, Working Papers from Universidad de Málaga, Department of Economic Theory, Málaga Economic Theory Research Center

Abstract: We report on a laboratory experiment on team production when a principal decides, before contributions are made, how the team output will be allocated between himself and the team members. The allocation determines the marginal per capita rate of contributions. Despite free-riding being the dominant strategy, if workers perceive more generous allocations as a gift by the employer, reciprocity motives may increase contributions. We also explore the impact of communication on the employer's side. Our results show the presence of reciprocity, evidencing that the gift-exchange phenomenon is robust to team production. Regarding communication, we find that messages with a positive connotation significantly increase contributions to the common project.

Keywords: public goods game; gift exchange game; communication; experiments (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C92 D91 H41 M52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 21 pages
Date: 2025-03
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