Gender and peer effects on performance in social networks

Abstract

We investigate whether peer effects at work differ by gender and whether the differences -if any- depend on work organization. We develop a social network model with gender heterogeneity that we test using a real-effort laboratory experiment. We compare unidirectional networks (with a one-way information flow) and bidirectional networks (with a two-way information flow). Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that competitive rivalry is the basic mechanism through which peer effects influence individuals’ behavior. Males and females behave differently. The former are influenced by their peers in both types of networks whereas the latter are indifferent to their peers’ performance in bidirectional networks. An interpretation is that females perceive the bidirectional networks as being more competitive.