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  • May 2018
  • Article
  • Management Science

Incentives for Prosocial Behavior: The Role of Reputations

By: Christine L. Exley
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Abstract

Do monetary incentives encourage volunteering? Or, do they introduce concerns about appearing greedy and crowd out the motivation to volunteer? Since the importance of such image concerns is normally unobserved, the answer is theoretically unclear, and corresponding empirical evidence is mixed. To help counter this ambiguity, this paper proposes that the importance of image concerns—such as the desire to appear prosocial and not to appear greedy—relates to individuals' volunteer reputations. Experimental results support this possibility. Individuals with past histories of volunteering are less responsive to image concerns if their histories are public or if their prosocial tendencies are already known. Consistent with a decreased importance of appearing prosocial, they are less likely to volunteer. Consistent with a decreased importance of not appearing greedy, they are less likely to be discouraged by public incentives.

Keywords

Incentives; Image Motivation; Volunteer; Prosocial Behavior; Altruism; Gender; Reputations; Motivation and Incentives; Behavior; Perception; Reputation

Citation

Exley, Christine L. "Incentives for Prosocial Behavior: The Role of Reputations." Management Science 64, no. 5 (May 2018): 2460–2471.
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About The Author

Christine L. Exley

Negotiation, Organizations & Markets
→More Publications

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    Beliefs about Gender Differences in Social Preferences

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More from the Author
  • Beliefs about Gender Differences in Social Preferences By: Christine L Exley, Oliver P. Hauser, Molly Moore and John-Henry Pezzuto
  • Negotiating for Equal Pay: The U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team (A) and (B) By: John Beshears and Christine Exley
  • The Role of Beliefs in Driving Gender Discrimination By: Katherine B. Coffman, Christine L. Exley and Muriel Niederle
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