Social roles and competitiveness: My willingness to compete depends on who I am (supposed to be)

Peilu Zhang, Yinjunjie Zhang and Marco Palma ()
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Yinjunjie Zhang (Jacquelyn)

Games and Economic Behavior, 2024, vol. 143, issue C, 125-151

Abstract: Women frequently react less favorably to competition than men. In this paper, we investigate the effects of social roles on willingness to compete (WTC). Subjects compete in two-person teams. In the treatment, one team member is randomly assigned the role of “breadwinner/manager”, and the other person is randomly assigned as the “supporter/assistant”. The only difference between the roles is the labels. In the baseline, subjects compete without any role assignment. We find women's WTC increases by 41% (44%) when they are assigned as breadwinners (managers) compared to women in the baseline. Men have lower WTC when they are assigned as supporters or assistants. There is no gender gap in WTC in treatment groups. Social norms of competitiveness for each role are elicited, and are suggested as the main driver of changes in WTC by the role assignment. We also examine other potential mechanisms through which social roles affect WTC.

Keywords: Gender stereotypes; Social norms; Tournament entry (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A14 B54 C90 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:gamebe:v:143:y:2024:i:c:p:125-151

DOI: 10.1016/j.geb.2023.11.005

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