Hierarchy and opportunism in teams

B-Tier
Journal: Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization
Year: 2009
Volume: 69
Issue: 1
Pages: 39-50

Score contribution per author:

0.670 = (α=2.01 / 3 authors) × 1.0x B-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

We use an experiment to compare two institutions for allocating the proceeds of team production. Under revenue-sharing, each team member receives an equal share of team output; under leader-determined shares, a team leader has the power to implement her own allocation. Both arrangements are vulnerable to opportunistic incentives: under revenue-sharing team members have an incentive to free ride, while under leader-determined shares leaders have an incentive to seize team output. We find that most leaders forego the temptation to appropriate team output and manage to curtail free riding. As a result, compared to revenue-sharing, the presence of a team leader results in a significant improvement in team performance.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:eee:jeborg:v:69:y:2009:i:1:p:39-50
Journal Field
Theory
Author Count
3
Added to Database
2026-01-29