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Peer pressure and manager pressure in organisations

Author

Listed:
  • Diego Battiston
  • Jordi Blanes i Vidal
  • Tom Kirchmaier
  • Katalin Szemeredi
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.

Suggested Citation

  • Diego Battiston & Jordi Blanes i Vidal & Tom Kirchmaier & Katalin Szemeredi, 2023. "Peer pressure and manager pressure in organisations," CEP Discussion Papers dp1924, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    • Handle: RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp1924
    as

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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    social incentives; teamwork; peer pressure; monitoring; managers; peer effects; organisations; productivity;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D23 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Organizational Behavior; Transaction Costs; Property Rights
    • M11 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Production Management

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