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Group gender composition and economic decision-making: Evidence from the Kallystée business game

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  • Lamiraud, Karine
  • Vranceanu, Radu

Abstract

This paper analyses data collected in 2012 and 2013 at the ESSEC Business School from Kallystée, a proprietary mass-attendance business game. Company boards are simulated by teams of five students selected at random. The design manipulates the gender composition of the boards to allow for all possible gender combinations. Data show that all-men and mixed teams with four women perform significantly better than all-women teams. However, when controlling for the average tolerance to risk score of the teams, the performance advantage of all-men teams vanishes, while the team-specific economic performance of teams with four women is still positive and strong. Teams with four women take more risks than the team tolerance to risk score would predict, which suggests some form of team specific action bias or risk-shift.

Suggested Citation

  • Lamiraud, Karine & Vranceanu, Radu, 2018. "Group gender composition and economic decision-making: Evidence from the Kallystée business game," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 294-305.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:145:y:2018:i:c:p:294-305
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2017.09.020
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    Cited by:

    1. Sutan, Angela & Vranceanu, Radu, 2019. "Managerial Behavior in the Lab: Information Disclosure, Decision Process and Leadership Style," ESSEC Working Papers WP1910, ESSEC Research Center, ESSEC Business School.
    2. David Hardt & Lea Mayer & Johannes Rincke, 2023. "Who Does the Talking Here? The Impact of Gender Composition on Team Interactions," CESifo Working Paper Series 10550, CESifo.
    3. Mahamadou Biga-Diambeidou & Maria Giuseppina Bruna & Rey Dang & L’Hocine Houanti, 2021. "Does gender diversity among new venture team matter for R&D intensity in technology-based new ventures? Evidence from a field experiment," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 56(3), pages 1205-1220, February.
    4. Yating Chuang & John Chung-En Liu, 2020. "Who wears a mask? Gender differences in risk behaviors in the COVID-19 early days in Taiwan," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 40(4), pages 2619-2627.
    5. Karine Lamiraud & Julien Patris & Radu Vranceanu, 2023. "Experimental evidence on the value of time and structure in market negotiations," Working Papers hal-03989514, HAL.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Team decision; Gender studies; Risk-taking; Business game; Performance; Governance;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D71 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Social Choice; Clubs; Committees; Associations
    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments
    • L25 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Performance
    • M14 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Corporate Culture; Diversity; Social Responsibility

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