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Cheating to win: Dishonesty and the intensity of competition

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  • Cartwright, Edward
  • Menezes, Matheus L.C.

Abstract

We argue that the intensity of competition within a group or organization can have an important influence on whether or not people cheat. To make this point we first work through a simple model of strategic misreporting in the workplace. For low and high levels of competition we show that, in equilibrium, few are predicted to misreport. It is for medium levels of competition that misreporting is predicted to be highest. We test this prediction experimentally and find good support for it. This finding has implications for the design of incentive structures within groups and organizations.

Suggested Citation

  • Cartwright, Edward & Menezes, Matheus L.C., 2014. "Cheating to win: Dishonesty and the intensity of competition," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 122(1), pages 55-58.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolet:v:122:y:2014:i:1:p:55-58
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2013.10.016
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Charness, Gary & Dufwenberg, Martin, 2003. "Promises & Partnership," Research Papers in Economics 2003:3, Stockholm University, Department of Economics.
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    6. Scott M. Gilpatric, 2011. "Cheating In Contests," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 49(4), pages 1042-1053, October.
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    8. Dan Ariely & Nina Mazar, 2006. "Dishonesty in everyday life and its policy implications," Working Papers 06-3, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
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    10. Joseph Tao-yi Wang & Michael Spezio & Colin F. Camerer, 2010. "Pinocchio's Pupil: Using Eyetracking and Pupil Dilation to Understand Truth Telling and Deception in Sender-Receiver Games," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 100(3), pages 984-1007, June.
    11. Christoph Vanberg, 2008. "Why Do People Keep Their Promises? An Experimental Test of Two Explanations -super-1," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 76(6), pages 1467-1480, November.
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    Cited by:

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    3. Benistant, Julien & Villeval, Marie Claire, 2019. "Unethical behavior and group identity in contests," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 128-155.
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    7. Benistant, Julien & Galeotti, Fabio & Villeval, Marie Claire, 2022. "Competition, information, and the erosion of morals," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 204(C), pages 148-163.
    8. Julien Benistant & Fabio Galeotti & Marie Claire Villeval, 2021. "The Distinct Impact of Information and Incentives on Cheating," Working Papers halshs-03110295, HAL.
    9. Simon Piest & Philipp Schreck, 2021. "Contests and unethical behavior in organizations: a review and synthesis of the empirical literature," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 71(4), pages 679-721, October.
    10. Posadzy, Kinga & Josephson, Camilla & Martinsson, Peter, 2017. "How Does Dishonesty Affect Winning and the Willingness to Compete? Evidence from a Stiff Competition Environment," LiU Working Papers in Economics 5, Linköping University, Division of Economics, Department of Management and Engineering.
    11. Dannenberg, Astrid & Khachatryan, Elina, 2020. "A comparison of individual and group behavior in a competition with cheating opportunities," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 533-547.
    12. Astrid Dannenberg & Elina Khachatryan, 2020. "A Comparison of Individual and Group Behavior in a Competition with Cheating Opportunities," MAGKS Papers on Economics 202003, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).
    13. Subhasish M. Chowdhury & Joo Young Jeon & Chulyoung Kim & Sang-Hyun Kim, 2021. "Gender Differences in Repeated Dishonest Behavior: Experimental Evidence," Games, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-11, May.
    14. Markus Eigruber & Franz Wirl, 2020. "Cheating as a dynamic marketing strategy in monopoly, cartel and duopoly," Central European Journal of Operations Research, Springer;Slovak Society for Operations Research;Hungarian Operational Research Society;Czech Society for Operations Research;Österr. Gesellschaft für Operations Research (ÖGOR);Slovenian Society Informatika - Section for Operational Research;Croatian Operational Research Society, vol. 28(2), pages 461-478, June.
    15. Alan, Sule & Ertac, Seda & Gumren, Mert, 2020. "Cheating and incentives in a performance context: Evidence from a field experiment on children," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 681-701.
    16. Moritz A. Drupp & Menusch Khadjavi & Rudi Voss, 2024. "The Truth-Telling of Truth-Seekers: Evidence from Online Experiments with Scientists," CESifo Working Paper Series 10897, CESifo.
    17. Andreas Lange & Claudia Schwirplies, 2021. "Bargaining With Charitable Promises: True Preferences and Strategic Behavior," CESifo Working Paper Series 9129, CESifo.
    18. Schwirplies, Claudia & Lange, Andreas, 2024. "Posted offers with charitable promises: True preferences and strategic behavior," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 308-326.
    19. Celse, Jérémy & Max, Sylvain & Steinel, Wolfgang & Soraperra, Ivan & Shalvi, Shaul, 2019. "Uncertain lies: How payoff uncertainty affects dishonesty," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 117-125.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Cheating; Deception; Misreporting; Competition; Lying;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C72 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - Noncooperative Games
    • J30 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - General

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