Motivating Employees with Goal-Based Prosocial Rewards*

A recent trend in organizations is to motivate employees with goal-based prosocial rewards, whereby employees must donate their rewards to charities upon goal attainment. We examine the motivational effects of goal-based prosocial rewards versus cash rewards under different levels of goal difficulty. We develop our hypotheses based on affective valuation theory, which posits that when valuing uncertain outcomes by affect rather than calculation, individuals are largely insensitive to changes in probability of the outcomes, including probability of goal attainment. Experiment results support our hypotheses. Specifically, we find that employees who are rewarded with prosocial (vs. cash) goal-based rewards are more likely to adopt an affective valuation approach. Consequently, when employees are assigned either an easy goal or a stretch goal, their effort is higher when incentivized with a goal-based prosocial reward than a cash reward. Furthermore, there is a less curve-linear relationship between goal difficulty and effort with prosocial (vs. cash) goal-based rewards. These findings highlight for incentive system designers the motivational advantage of goal-based prosocial rewards relative to traditional cash rewards. Furthermore, we extend the academic literature by showing how affect-rich rewards such as prosocial rewards can influence employees' assessment of the probability of goal attainment.     

Yield effects of agricultural cooperative membership in developing countries: A meta-analysis

This study uses a meta-analysis to synthesize the effects of agricultural cooperative membership on the yield of crops and livestock. It collects 158 estimated yield effects from 42 studies, covering 19 developing countries. Our analysis finds evidence that there exists positive publication bias in the empirical literature, confirming that researchers and journals have a preference to publish articles that report positive and significant results. After correcting for publication bias, we find that cooperative membership has a small-sized and insignificant effect on the yield. The meta-regression analysis reveals that variation in the reported yield effects can be largely explained by the study attributes such as the sample type (full sample vs. subsample), membership ratio, econometric approaches (instrumental-variable based parametric approach, non-parametric approach or ordinary least square regression), effect size types (average treatment effects on the treated, average treatment effects, or coefficient), agro-product type (grain or others), and climate zones (tropical or non-tropical).     

Political ideology and CEO performance under crisis

Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting - Management quality is known to influence depository institution performance, but less understood are the characteristics of managers that influence...     

Preventing bank panics: The role of the regulator's preferences

How do the preferences of a banking authority affect its decision making in periods of distress and thus financial stability? We study this question in a version of Diamond and Dybvig (1983) with a monopolistic bank and a time-consistent policy response by a banking authority. We show that limited commitment on the part of the banking authority may induce fragility but the banking authority's incentives are also an important determining factor in the degree of financial stability. In particular, under a simple suspension scheme, delegating a banking authority who places sufficient weight on a banker's welfare acts as a commitment device and prevents runs, in analogy with how a Rogoff (1985) “conservative” central banker helps reduce inflation bias. In contrast, once interventions take the form of payment rescheduling, the scope for the bank's susceptibility to a panic increases should the banking authority put more weight on monopoly rents. Identifying such an aspect of vulnerability suggests that appointing a banking authority whose objective function deviates from that of depositors may have unintended consequences.     

From laboratory to clinic: science commercialization within university-centered entrepreneurial ecosystems

The commercialization of scientific discoveries within the university-industry nexus is multifaceted and complex, characterized by dynamic interactions between multiple agents, organizations, and institutions. These interactions support a university-centered entrepreneurial ecosystem (UCEE). Our study investigates agent-institution dynamics within the UCEE to explore how individual agents seek to commercialize their scientific discoveries. Specifically, relying on 47 narrative interviews, we explore how UCEE agents across three UCEEs in the United States, United Kingdom, and Russia respond and adapt to institutional commercialization mandates during commercialization of their stem cell-based regenerative medicine discoveries. Our findings emphasize the bi-directional relationship between individual agents and institutions within a UCEE, facilitating a much-needed multi-level perspective on academic entrepreneurship research. We extend recent frameworks that propose how the formative stages of the entrepreneurial process – opportunity evolution – influences ecosystem emergence. Specifically, by investigating the latter stages of the entrepreneurial process – how (science-based) opportunities are commercialized within UCEEs – we reveal distinct behavioral responses to science commercialization mandates, which underscore how UCEEs evolve. Furthermore, by explicating the importance of UCEE agent behavior during science commercialization, our study shines an important spotlight onto the microfoundations of science commercialization and UCEEs. Our research imparts important policy implications for institutions tasked with commercializing scientific discoveries and policy makers challenged with developing high growth, sustainable UCEEs.     

Eldercare and job productivity: An accommodation analysis

Over the next decade, the number of working adults relegated to the role of caregiver for one or more elderly family members will rapidly surge. The emotional, physical, and financial stress of caregiving has already begun to impact the productivity of the employee elder caregiver in the workplace, with estimates placing the annual costs around $30 billion. We can expect costs to grow as workers and their elderly parents continue to age. This particular study addresses the fundamental research question of what affects the job performance of employee elder caregivers. The results support the conclusion that the relationship among caregiving, personal support, organizational accommodation, and job productivity is multidimensional. Organizations attuned to the demands of elder caregiving can work with affected employees to reduce or eliminate declines in job productivity. Future researchers and practitioners can reconsider their research protocols and interventions along a wide continuum of interactions in the employee's home and workplace environments.