This paper reviews the field experimental evidence on firm–employee relationships. There is
strong evidence that output rises in response to financial incentives, but more mixed support …

Do higher wages elicit reciprocity and lead to increased productivity? In a field experiment
with 266 employees, we find that paying higher wages, per se, does not have a discernible …

Organizational scholars have systematically studied the negotiation process to guide the
development of general descriptive and prescriptive theory. Descriptive research conducted …

There is a long-standing debate about the extent to which economic theory should inform
econometric modeling and estimation. This debate is particularly evident in the …

There is considerable anecdotal evidence that farm workers who are paid by piece rate tend
to “income target,” or work only until they achieve a certain amount of daily income, and then …

We demonstrate in a laboratory experiment that the effectiveness of performance-contingent
incentives is inversely related to risk-aversion levels. For about 16.5% of participants …

The “ratchet effect” is a phenomenon where workers strategically restrict their output
because they anticipate high levels of productivity will be met with increased expectations in …

This paper examines workers' response to a nonlinear payment system with a penalty and a
reward design in a manufacturing firm in China. Using bunching methods, our estimates …

We investigate the economic relevance and the composition of gifts within a firm where
output is contractible. We develop a structural behavioral model that identifies workers' …

Behind every managerial decision or action are assumptions about human nature and
human behavior. Douglas MacGregor (1906 Detroit–1964 Massachusetts) MacGregor …