Individual Incentives Research Articles

The effect of faultline and incentive schemes on knowledge-sharing behaviour

Purpose This study aims to examine the effect of faultline based on job responsibility and their interaction with the incentive scheme on knowledge-sharing behavior. Design/methodology/approach This research is an experimental study with a 2 × 2 factorial design between subjects. Faultline and incentive schemes are manipulated into two groups (strong faultline–weak faultline and group incentive–individual incentives). This study involved 89 undergraduate accounting students as participants. Findings This research shows that a strong faultline created a strong social identity effect. Hence, the knowledge-sharing behavior among group members tends to be lower than the weak faultline. Knowledge-sharing behavior tends to be higher in group incentive schemes than individual ones. However, there is no support for interactions between incentive schemes and faultline effects on knowledge-sharing behavior. The results indicate that forming a working subgroup based on informational characteristics attributes reduces cooperative behavior and knowledge sharing between groups. Originality/value This study adds a new addition to faultline literature by examining the effect of faultline and incentive schemes on knowledge-sharing behavior based on informational characteristics attributes. Previous research on faultline and knowledge sharing was limited and primarily focused on faultlines created by demographic attributes. This study also enriches faultline literature on knowledge-sharing behavior using an experimental design.

Individual participation and incentive coordination in watershed ecological compensation project: insights from China's Xin'an River Basin pilot.

The success or failure of executing the watershed ecological compensation (WEC) policy is primarily contingent on incentive designs. How do different contractual designs influence the actions of micro-individuals in WEC? How may individuals be enticed to engage in WEC project? Taking the first inter-provincial WEC-Xin'an River Basin (XRB) pilot in China as a case, this study investigates the impacts of government-oriented, market-oriented, and incentive-cooperation contracts on individuals' behavior based on the framework of Stackelberg games. Subsequently, differences in efforts and profits of diverse individuals are compared and analyzed for each contract. The case-specific numerical example is then utilized to validate theoretical outcomes and to support subsequent key insights. First, the government-oriented contract exhibits effectiveness in bolstering the efforts and interests of micro-individuals, whereas it also places the government under tremendous financial strain. Second, the market-oriented contract formed by the output contribution rate assists in overcoming deficiencies of excurrent government-oriented contract. But it remains controversial if, in the absence of government inspection, investors that devote more cooperative-efforts are not rewarded with further dividends, ultimately diminishing their enthusiasm for the WEC-XRB project. Lastly, the incentive-cooperation contract reinforced by market dominance is advantageous for improving the efficacy of water resource management under the existing government-oriented policy relying on command-and-control instruments.

Association Between Individual Primary Care Physician Merit-based Incentive Payment System Score and Measures of Process and Patient Outcomes

The Medicare Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) influences reimbursement for hundreds of thousands of US physicians, but little is known about whether program performance accurately captures the quality of care they provide. To examine whether primary care physicians' MIPS scores are associated with performance on process and outcome measures. Cross-sectional study of 80 246 US primary care physicians participating in the MIPS program in 2019. MIPS score. The association between physician MIPS scores and performance on 5 unadjusted process measures, 6 adjusted outcome measures, and a composite outcome measure. The study population included 3.4 million patients attributed to 80 246 primary care physicians, including 4773 physicians with low MIPS scores (≤30), 6151 physicians with medium MIPS scores (>30-75), and 69 322 physicians with high MIPS scores (>75). Compared with physicians with high MIPS scores, physicians with low MIPS scores had significantly worse mean performance on 3 of 5 process measures: diabetic eye examinations (56.1% vs 63.2%; difference, -7.1 percentage points [95% CI, -8.0 to -6.2]; P < .001), diabetic HbA1c screening (84.6% vs 89.4%; difference, -4.8 percentage points [95% CI, -5.4 to -4.2]; P < .001), and mammography screening (58.2% vs 70.4%; difference, -12.2 percentage points [95% CI, -13.1 to -11.4]; P < .001) but significantly better mean performance on rates of influenza vaccination (78.0% vs 76.8%; difference, 1.2 percentage points [95% CI, 0.0 to 2.5]; P = .045] and tobacco screening (95.0% vs 94.1%; difference, 0.9 percentage points [95% CI, 0.3 to 1.5]; P = .001). MIPS scores were inconsistently associated with risk-adjusted patient outcomes: compared with physicians with high MIPS scores, physicians with low MIPS scores had significantly better mean performance on 1 outcome (307.6 vs 316.4 emergency department visits per 1000 patients; difference, -8.9 [95% CI, -13.7 to -4.1]; P < .001), worse performance on 1 outcome (255.4 vs 225.2 all-cause hospitalizations per 1000 patients; difference, 30.2 [95% CI, 24.8 to 35.7]; P < .001), and did not have significantly different performance on 4 ambulatory care-sensitive admission outcomes. Nineteen percent of physicians with low MIPS scores had composite outcomes performance in the top quintile, while 21% of physicians with high MIPS scores had outcomes in the bottom quintile. Physicians with low MIPS scores but superior outcomes cared for more medically complex and socially vulnerable patients, compared with physicians with low MIPS scores and poor outcomes. Among US primary care physicians in 2019, MIPS scores were inconsistently associated with performance on process and outcome measures. These findings suggest that the MIPS program may be ineffective at measuring and incentivizing quality improvement among US physicians.

Academics’ Attitudes Toward Engaging in Public Discussions: Experimental Evidence on the Impact of Engagement Conditions

Growing demands and expectations on the side of policy makers and the public have changed the conditions for academics’ engagement in public discussions. At the same time, risks related to this engagement for the professional and even private lives of academics have become apparent. Conducting a survey experiment among 4091 tenured professors in Germany, we study how these conditions causally affect academics’ attitudes toward engaging. Consistent with the crowding-out of intrinsic motivation, we find less-positive attitudes when emphasizing demands for engagement by public authorities and public expectations toward science’s societal relevance. Effects are particularly strong among professors endorsing science–society relations. Moreover, effects are similar when highlighting risks associated with engagement, but more pronounced for females and younger professors. Emphasizing public support for academics’ engagement has no discernible effects. We conclude that considering individual incentive structures and safeguarding against negative repercussions may promote academics’ engagement and an adequate representation of the diversity of academics in the public.

What Determines The Outcomes Of Public Procurement Arbitration?

ABSTRACT The strengths and weaknesses of arbitration compared to litigation, as a system for solving procurement disputes between governments and their private counterparts has been a subject of debate among scholars. A particularly sensitive topic relates to the impartiality standards of each system and the determinants of its outcomes. Using a unique database of national arbitration resolutions we analyze the determinants of awards in procurement disputes related to public works. Estimating a cross-section model, we find evidence in favor of party capability theory and the influence of institutional factors in arbitration outcomes, like amendments to procurement law or the characteristics of the organization in charge of administering these processes. As well, we find indirect evidence that suggests that adverse outcomes for government entities are related with the lack of individual incentives of officials to settle with private contractors, and the presence of presumably undue influence among private contractors and arbitrators.

Analisis Pengaruh Faktor Individu, Budaya Organisasi dan Insentif terhadap Kinerja Pegawai pada Sekretariat Daerah Kabupaten Aceh Tenggara

This study is the result of a quantitative study that aims to answer how individual factors, organizational culture, and incentives simultaneously and partially affect the performance of the employees of the Regional Secretariat of Southeast Aceh Regency. Research data were collected through initial observations and filling out a list of statements by respondents who were designated as samples in this study. Further analyzed by quantitative analysis. In the F test the results state that simultaneously there is a significant influence between Individual Factors (X1), Organizational Culture (X2), and Incentives (X3) on the Performance (Y) of the Regional Secretariat of Southeast Aceh Regency employees. The t-test shows that there is no significant impact of Individual Factors (X1) and Organizational Culture (X2) on Performance (Y). Meanwhile, there is a significant impact of Incentives (X3) on Performance (Y). So that the Incentive becomes the variable that has the most impact on performance. In line with the conclusions above, it is recommended to take a more performance-based approach through the application of fair rewards and sanctions (punishment) to the State Civil Apparatus at the Regional Secretariat of Southeast Aceh Regency.

Differential effects of autonomy on employee satisfaction and organizational performance depending on the type of financial incentives: evidence from a four-wave panel of Korean companies

This study examines the effects of an autonomy-supportive climate on employee satisfaction and organizational performance at the organizational level. It also extends self-determination theory by applying this theory to the differential interaction effects of individual and group incentives with an autonomy-supportive climate on employee satisfaction and organizational performance. Employees may differently utilize autonomy granted to them depending on whether or not they are granted financial incentives and depending on the type of financial incentives granted to them, if any. The hypotheses were tested by moderated mediation models using nationally representative panel data that were collected from 2009 to 2015. The moderation analyses provide evidence that while individual incentives strengthened the effect of an autonomy-supportive climate on employee satisfaction, group incentives weakened that effect. Furthermore, individual incentives resulted in little change to the effect of an autonomy-supportive climate on organizational performance, but group incentives strengthened that effect. Since the results do not identify specific best practices for the combination of an autonomy-supportive climate and financial incentives, this study implies that top management should make strategic choices with regard to which combination of practices they adopt among less or more autonomy-supportive practices and individual or group incentives.

Experimental Evidence on Group-based Attendance Bonuses in Team Production

We test the effectiveness of a group-based attendance bonus in a field experiment in a factory in Pakistan, where workers manufacture electric fans in stages using batch-production methods. We find that the group-based attendance bonus increased by more than a quarter the average number of days that the team’s attendance target was met. This effect was larger for junior and mid-level workers as compared to senior workers. We find that the bonus incentivized better coordination among workers, especially in the latter part of the month, rather than through higher average attendance. Our experiment’s results suggest that temporary incentive programmes may help workers in the transition period to new ways of organizing production and may prove to be a valuable tool for change management. Group-based bonuses offer an alternative to individual or tournament-based incentives based on one’s own or relative performance, which may have deleterious effects on intrinsic motivation and pro-social behaviour.

Walking down the street: how does the built environment promote physical activity? A case study of Indonesian cities

ABSTRACT This research merges individual self-reported physical-activity data from the fifth wave of the Indonesia Family Life Survey (IFLS) with data on Indonesian cities’ and municipalities’ built environments and employs cross-sectional multilevel regression to disentangle the relevant factors that affect individual incentives to engage in physical activity. The results suggest that high-density settings and land-use diversity in Indonesian urban settings adversely affect the incentive to engage in physical activity. Our finding reflects the common case of developing countries where the main problem arises from insufficient urban planning, which further results in other issues such as conventional land use and low-level safety and security. Thus, the result implies the urgency to improve built-environment planning in Indonesia to create a more supportive living environment that encourages residents to be more physically active, hence creating a healthier society.

Rent-Seeking Behavior and Economic Justice: A Classroom Exercise.

Rent-seeking behavior is when individuals or firms acquire above-market returns by exercising economic and political power. We introduce an active-learning exercise, with discussion questions and extensions, to illustrate implications of rent seeking for efficiency, equity, economic justice, and democracy. Students act as corporate decision makers allocating resources among physical, financial, and political investment. Instructors use the results to highlight distinctions between productive and nonproductive activities, and ways in which individual firm incentives may differ from socially optimal firm behavior. This allows for discussions of broader issues, such as how rent seeking can undermine democratic ideals and perpetuate inequality.

Institutional Quality and Intra-Regional Trade Flows: Evidence from ECOWAS

Since institutional quality can either create or destroy incentives for individuals to engage in trade, it has become a source of worry to policymakers, as it can limit both intra- and extra-regional trade. Based on this, we empirically analyzed the extent to which national institutional quality affects bilateral trade flows in ECOWAS based on a gravity model for the period from 2000 to 2018. Specifically, the study employs the negative binomial pseudo-maximum likelihood estimator (NBPML). The results reveal that institutional variables with both aggregated and disaggregated measures of the quality of institutions have a significant and positive impact on trade flows in ECOWAS and on its sub-samples, WAEMU and WAMZ. The results further indicate that for both importing and exporting countries, reduced corruption, effective rule of law, and effective government coincide with more trade among member countries. The degree of regional integration is an important determinant of intra-ECOWAS trade, as are GDP, GDP per capita, common language, and landlockedness.

Citations and References: Guidelines on Literature Practices

Introduction. Citations of scholarly publications are considered an efficient measure of productivity of research and researchers. They are part of scholarly communication, driving the evolving knowledge in all disciplines. Citations form an integral part of literature practices of researchers. The latter are prone to deliberate or unconscious biases. One of the challenges all researchers face is to overcome or at least mitigate identified biases in citation. It may lead to distorting knowledge development in the least possible way.&#x0D; Purpose. As the research of citations is on the rise, more theoretical background is being developed. The editors call the JLE readers attention to the Triangular Citations, with various relationships among publications formed by citations.&#x0D; Results. Empirical studies are not unanimous in defining the features that affect citations most. Most researchers highlight a publication source as the most influential feature, with multi feature approach favoured by the academic community at large. Other features entail features relating to authors, journal, and publication itself. Moreover, there are varieties across the disciplines. The field of research of citation behaviour is only beginning to widen. The focus of such research is made on citation behaviour patterns, individual incentives behind the references and citations aligned with financial or reputation stimuli, and citations patterns linked to citation behaviour. Bias in citation threatens to distort knowledge and may evolve it subtly or obviously in a specific direction. Biases are not easy to deal with. In addition, values and mindsets vary across the countries and academic and scholarly communities that hinders efforts to overcome biases.&#x0D; Implications. The JLE editors sum up the best guidelines on improvements in publications that add to greater citations, with the high quality of articles as the key.

Physicians’ perspectives on using a patient decision aid in female stress urinary incontinence

Introduction and hypothesisA treatment choice for female stress urinary incontinence (SUI) is preference sensitive for both patients and physicians. Multiple treatment options are available, with none being superior to any other. The decision-making process can be supported by a patient decision aid (PDA). We aimed to assess physicians’ perceptions concerning the use of a PDA.MethodsIn a mixed methods study, urologists, gynecologists and general practitioners in the Netherlands were asked to fill out a web-based questionnaire. Questions were based on the Tailored Implementation for Chronic Diseases checklist using the following domains: guideline factors, individual health professional factors, professional interactions, incentives and resources, and capacity for organizational change. Participants were asked to grade statements using a five-point Likert scale and to answer open questions on facilitators of and barriers to implementation of a PDA. Outcomes of statement rating were quantitatively analyzed and thematic analysis was performed on the outcomes regarding facilitators and barriers.ResultsThe response rate was 11%, with a total of 120 participants completing the questionnaire. Ninety-two of the physicians (77%) would use a PDA in female SUI. Evidence-based and unbiased content, the ability to support shared decision making, and patient empowerment are identified as main facilitators. Barriers are the expected prolonged time investment and the possible difficulty using the PDA in less health-literate patient populations.ConclusionsThe majority of physicians would use a PDA for female SUI. We identified facilitators and barriers that can be used when developing and implementing such a PDA.

Incentivizing a regime change in Dutch agriculture

Regime changes are hard to incentivize as behaviour is difficult to change. As efforts towards environmentally sustainable agricultural practices indicate, farmers are reluctant to adopt new practices. This study analyses whether policy packages of mixed public and private payments could be effective in incentivizing a regime change, and how targeting payments could further enhance this effect. We implemented a choice experiment among a large sample of Dutch crop (N = 296) and dairy (N = 514) farmers. Our results highlight the importance of offering policy packages of mixed incentives to stimulate farmers to adopt nature-inclusive farming practices. The combination of incentives is more effective than individual incentives alone, and targeting policies to sectors and farmers greatly enhances effectiveness: mainstream farmers require higher incentives to change their practices than farmers that already made changes on their land. This also highlights the importance of including non-financial elements in policy design for targeting especially mainstream farmers.

Economic Incentives for Individuals to Careful Environmental Management

Economic Incentives for Individuals to Careful Environmental Management

Sequential Bidding for Merging in Algorithmic Traffic

Problem definition: We consider the problem of resolving ad hoc unpredictable congestion in environments where customers have private time valuations. We investigate the design of fair, efficient, budget-balanced, and implementable bidding mechanisms for observable queues. Academic/practical relevance: Our primary motivation comes from merging in algorithmic traffic, i.e., a driver wishing to merge in a relatively dense platoon of vehicles in a coordinated and efficient way, using intervehicle communication and micropayments, akin to an arriving customer trading for position in a single-server observable queue. Methodology: We analyze the performance of a mechanism where the queue joiner makes sequential take-it-or-leave-it bids from tail to head (T2H) of a platoon, with the condition that the vehicle can advance to the next position only if it wins the bid. This mechanism is designed so that it is implementable, balances the budget, and imposes no negative externalities. Results: We compared this mechanism with head to tail (H2T) bidding, which favors the merging driver but potentially causes uncompensated externalities. Assuming i.i.d. time valuations, we obtain the optimal bids, value functions, and expected social welfare in closed form in both mechanisms. Moreover, if the time valuation of the merging driver is not high, we show that the expected social welfare of T2H is close to a partial information social optimum and that the expected social welfare of H2T is lower than that of T2H as long as the platoon is not too short. Managerial implications: Our findings suggest that mechanisms based on sequential take-it-or-leave-it bids from T2H of an observable queue have good social welfare performance, even if the corresponding bids are not chosen optimally, as long as the time valuation of the arriving customer is not high. Nevertheless, the tension between individual incentives and social welfare seems hard to resolve, highlighting the role of platforms to enforce the cooperation of involved parties. Funding: This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness [Grants ECO2013-41131-R and ECO2016-75905-R (AEI/FEDER, UE)]. M.G. Markakis was also supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation [the Juan de la Cierva fellowship and the Ramón y Cajal fellowship]. Supplemental Material: The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/msom.2022.1144 .

Measuring batting performance and strategic behavior of batters of cricket players

I want to propose two methods separately for investigating cricket players' strategic behavior &#x0D; and quantifying their performance. Over the years, researchers have made significant progress &#x0D; in strategy investigation and performance evaluation of cricket players. Still, researchers have &#x0D; barely researched strategic behavior change when players score near landmarks (score 50 or &#x0D; 100), and the current performance index is not accurate enough for quantifying players' &#x0D; performance. Considering limitations appearing in related work, I would put extra effort into &#x0D; furtherly investigating players' strategic behaviors when their score nears landmarks and derive &#x0D; a more accurate performance index to quantify players' performance. The final project will help &#x0D; amateurs understand whether individual incentives influence players' strategic behavior, and &#x0D; clubs can use an improved performance index to gain commercial benefits by identifying and &#x0D; recruiting eminent cricket players.

Fuzzy AHP approach to evaluate incentive factors of high-tech talent agglomeration

To compete with the speedy revolution of high technological innovation and restarted economy for the post-COVID-19 period in China, governments and organizations should be active in attracting high-tech talent to enhance independent and indigenous R&D capability. Talent agglomeration effectiveness is the strongest endogenous force pushing competitiveness for regional economy and industrial development. Due to the complexity of high-tech talent agglomeration, there are still considerable gaps to evaluate the incentive factors. This study evaluates the influential indicator system by using a hybrid fuzzy set theory extended Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) approach for proximity to reality from individual, organizational and environmental dimensions. The statistical analysis is adopted to verify the results of fuzzy AHP analysis. This research explores the founding that individual incentives are more important than environmental factors, and environmental incentives are more influential than organizational incentives. Job satisfaction, welfare system, and geographical location are the highest ranking factors. High-tech start-ups should give priority to combine geographical location with political support to reserve site selection or firm relocation for a great effectiveness of high-tech talent agglomeration.

Fairness perceptions regarding in-work benefits: a survey experiment

PurposeIn many countries, individuals can receive welfare support whilst simultaneously being employed. The level of earned income that welfare recipients are allowed to keep has long been a subject of debate. Core issues include whether in-work benefit regulations provide incentives for individuals to expand labour market participation and are thus also socially effective and whether the population perceives welfare benefits for individuals who earn own income as fair. This article contributes to the debate about the social legitimacy of in-work benefit regulations by shedding light on the principles guiding judgements about an adequate amount of in-work benefit receipt.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use a factorial survey experiment to investigate which factors guide judgements about an adequate level of in-work benefit receipt. In the authors' factorial survey, the household composition, health status, and monthly earnings of a hypothetical in-work benefit recipient were varied experimentally. The study investigates Germany's basic income support programme, a means-tested social policy programme that targets both unemployed and employed individuals.FindingsThe results show that respondents consider higher earnings retention rates for lower-income earners to be fair. This preference mirrors the German legislation, which is based on the principle of need. Furthermore, the presence of children and of physical as well as mental health impairments are associated with support for higher earnings retention rates.Originality/valueThe findings suggest that citizens support the core features of in-work benefit regulations but do not consider in-work benefit recipients as a homogenous group when assessing the adequate level of benefit receipt.

Practical Applications of The Illusory Benefit of Working Longer on Retirement Financial Preparedness: Rethinking Advice That Working Longer Increases Retirement Income

In <b><i>The Illusory Benefit of Working Longer on Retirement Financial Preparedness: Rethinking Advice That Working Longer Increases Retirement Income</i></b>, from the Summer 2022 issue of <b><i>The Journal of Retirement</i></b>, authors <b>Teresa Ghilarducci</b> (of <b>The New School</b>), <b>Michael Papadopoulos</b> (of the <b>New York City Office of Labor Policy and Standards</b>), and <b>Anthony Webb</b> (of <b>The New School</b>) challenge assumptions that underpin popular retirement-planning advice. They find that, despite significant financial incentives for individuals to delay the commencement of Social Security benefits past their “full retirement age” (FRA), the great majority elect to commence receiving benefits upon reaching their FRA. This finding calls into question key assumptions underlying both key public policies and financial advice prepared for clients. The study analyzes national survey data and finds that only 45% of Americans who work until age 70 are prepared for retirement. Working from 62 to 70 increases preparedness by only 22 percentage points because nearly everyone (working and nonworking) commences receiving Social Security benefits by age 66. Almost no one waits until 70 to receive the full “delayed retirement credit” (DRC). The assumptions in earlier research about individual behavior have proven to be incorrect. Financial advisors should reconsider whether advising clients to work longer for higher retirement income is realistic.