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The effects of injunctive and descriptive tipping norms on tipping behavior and motives

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  • Lynn, Michael

Abstract

Although tipping is widely considered to be normative behavior, normative influences on tipping have been under studied. A hypothetical scenario experiment examined the effects on tipping of both descriptive and injunctive tipping norms as well as their interactions with one another and with tipping motives. Results support the normative nature of tipping – stronger injunctive tipping norms increased both the likelihood of tipping counterworkers and (at least sometimes) the size of tips given to them. However, local descriptive tipping norms had small if any main-effects on the tipping of counterworkers, probably because they decreased respondents’ perceptions that the worker deserved more tips, that their tips would be noticed, and that their tips would encourage others to tip at the same time that they increased respondents’ feelings of being pressured to tip. These and other findings in this study demonstrate the complex nature of normative influences on tipping as well as the need for more research on those influences.

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  • Lynn, Michael, 2021. "The effects of injunctive and descriptive tipping norms on tipping behavior and motives," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:soceco:v:95:y:2021:i:c:s2214804321001269
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socec.2021.101786
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Ofer H. Azar, 2020. "The Economics of Tipping," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 34(2), pages 215-236, Spring.
    2. Azar, Ofer H., 2011. "Business strategy and the social norm of tipping," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 515-525, June.
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    5. Lynn, Michael & Jabbour, Patrick & Kim, Woo Gon, 2012. "Who uses tips as a reward for service and when? An examination of potential moderators of the service–tipping relationship," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 90-103.
    6. R. Keith Schwer & Rennae Daneshvary, 2000. "Tipping participation and expenditures in beauty salons," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(15), pages 2023-2031.
    7. Lynn, Michael, 2015. "Explanations of service gratuities and tipping: Evidence from individual differences in tipping motivations and tendencies," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 65-71.
    8. Ofer Azar, 2005. "Who do we tip and why? An empirical investigation," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(16), pages 1871-1879.
    9. Lynn, Michael, 2015. "Service gratuities and tipping: A motivational framework," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 74-88.
    10. Lynn, Michael, 2018. "How motivations for tipping vary with occupational differences in descriptive tipping norms," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 1-10.
    11. Katharine M. Howie & Lifeng Yang & Scott J. Vitell & Victoria Bush & Doug Vorhies, 2018. "Consumer Participation in Cause-Related Marketing: An Examination of Effort Demands and Defensive Denial," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 147(3), pages 679-692, February.
    12. Bertoldo, Raquel & Castro, Paula, 2016. "The outer influence inside us: Exploring the relation between social and personal norms," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 45-53.
    13. Eriksson, Kimmo & Strimling, Pontus & Coultas, Julie C., 2015. "Bidirectional associations between descriptive and injunctive norms," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 59-69.
    14. Lynn, Michael, 2016. "Motivations for tipping: How they differ across more and less frequently tipped services," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 38-48.
    15. Lynn, Michael, 2016. "Why are we more likely to tip some service occupations than others? Theory, evidence, and implications," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 134-150.
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