eprintid: 13441
rev_number: 29
eprint_status: archive
userid: 1
dir: disk0/00/01/34/41
datestamp: 2012-06-21 14:49:02
lastmod: 2016-01-15 13:37:28
status_changed: 2012-08-15 09:06:08
type: workingPaper
metadata_visibility: show
creators_name: Nikiforakis, Nikos
creators_name: Oechssler, Jörg
creators_name: Shah, Anwar
title: Hierarchy, Coercion, and Exploitation: An Experimental Analysis
ispublished: pub
subjects: ddc-330
divisions: i-181000
keywords: coercion , exploitation , disobedience , hierarchy , social norms.
abstract: The power to coerce workers is important for the efficient operation of hierarchically structured organizations. However, this power can also be used by managers to exploit their subordinates for their own benefit. We examine the relationship between the power to coerce and exploitation in a laboratory experiment where a senior and a junior player interact repeatedly for a finite number of periods. We find that senior players try repeatedly to use their power to exploit junior workers. These attempts are successful only when junior workers have incomplete information about how their effort impacts on the earnings of senior players, but not when they have complete information. Evidence from an incentive-compatible questionnaire indicates that the social acceptability of exploitation depends on whether the junior worker can detect she is being exploited. We also show how a history of exploitation affects future interactions.
abstract_translated_lang: eng
date: 2012
date_type: published
id_scheme: DOI
id_number: 10.11588/heidok.00013441
schriftenreihe_cluster_id: sr-3
schriftenreihe_order: 0530
ppn_swb: 1651524017
own_urn: urn:nbn:de:bsz:16-opus-134417
language: eng
bibsort: NIKIFORAKIHIERARCHYC2012
full_text_status: public
citation:   Nikiforakis, Nikos ; Oechssler, Jörg ; Shah, Anwar  (2012) Hierarchy, Coercion, and Exploitation: An Experimental Analysis.  [Working paper]     
document_url: https://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/volltextserver/13441/1/Nikiforakis_Oechssler_Shah_2012_dp530.pdf