Employee Recognition and Performance: A Field Experiment

32 Pages Posted: 4 Apr 2013

See all articles by Christiane Bradler

Christiane Bradler

ZEW – Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research

Robert Dur

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) - Department of Economics; Tinbergen Institute; CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute); IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Susanne Neckermann

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) - Erasmus School of Economics (ESE)

Arjan Non

Maastricht University

Multiple version iconThere are 4 versions of this paper

Date Written: March 31, 2013

Abstract

This paper reports the results from a controlled field experiment designed to investigate the causal effect of public recognition on employee performance. We hired more than 300 employees to work on a three-hour data-entry task. In a random sample of work groups, workers unexpectedly received recognition after two hours of work. We find that recognition increases subsequent performance substantially, and particularly so when recognition is exclusively provided to the best performers. Remarkably, workers who did not receive recognition are mainly responsible for this performance increase. This result is consistent with workers having a preference for conformity.

Keywords: employee motivation, recognition, reciprocity, conformity, field experiment

JEL Classification: C930, M520

Suggested Citation

Bradler, Christiane and Dur, Robert and Neckermann, Susanne and Non, Arjan, Employee Recognition and Performance: A Field Experiment (March 31, 2013). CESifo Working Paper Series No. 4164, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2243458 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2243458

Christiane Bradler

ZEW – Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research ( email )

P.O. Box 10 34 43
L 7,1
D-68034 Mannheim, 68034
Germany

Robert Dur

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) - Department of Economics ( email )

FEW / H 8-15
P.O. Box 1738
Rotterdam, 3000 DR
Netherlands
+31-10-4082159 (Phone)
+31-10-4089161 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://people.few.eur.nl/dur

Tinbergen Institute

Amsterdam/Rotterdam
Netherlands

CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute)

Poschinger Str. 5
Munich, DE-81679
Germany

IZA Institute of Labor Economics

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

Susanne Neckermann

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) - Erasmus School of Economics (ESE) ( email )

Arjan Non (Contact Author)

Maastricht University ( email )

P.O. Box 616
Maastricht, Limburg 6200MD
Netherlands

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
189
Abstract Views
1,578
Rank
38,684
PlumX Metrics