Applied Economics Seminar Series. Peer Pressure and Manager Pressure in Organisations
Published: 30 October 2023
1 November. Dr Diego Battiston, University of Edinburgh
Dr Diego Battiston, University of Edinburgh
"Peer Pressure and Manager Pressure in Organisations"
Wednesday, 1 November. 3 pm
Room 355 Gilbert Scott Building
Abstract
We study the interaction between horizontal (peer) and vertical (manager) social factors in workers' motivation. In our setting, individuals work using open-plan desks. Using a natural experiment, we identify a sharp increase in workers' productivity following the occupation of adjacent desks. We link this peer pressure effect to two key aspects of the worker-manager relation. First, we find stronger peer pressure when managers monitor workers less. Second, we find stronger peer pressure among workers performance-evaluated by the same manager. In a set of counterfactual exercises, we illustrate how organisations could take advantage of these interdependencies to increase worker productivity.
Bio
Diego is a Lecturer at the University of Edinburgh. He completed his PhD at the London School of Economics in 2018. Prior to joining the University of Edinburgh, he was an Assistant Professor at Stockholm University between 2018 and 2020. He is associated with the Centre for Economic Performance at LSE and affiliated to CESifo. His primary research interests lie in the areas of Organisational Economics, Labor Economics, and Development Economics.
For further information, please contact business-school-research@glasgow.ac.uk
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First published: 30 October 2023
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