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Favoritism and Fairness in Teams

Author

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  • Lu Dong

    (Economics Experimental Lab, Nanjing Audit University, Nanjing 211815, China)

  • Lingbo Huang

    (Economics Experimental Lab, Nanjing Audit University, Nanjing 211815, China)

Abstract

We experimentally study how people resolve a tension between favoritism and fairness when allocating a profit in a team production setting. Past research shows that people tend to favor their ingroup at the cost of an outgroup when allocating a given amount of money. However, when the money to be allocated depends on joint production, we find that most players allocate proportionally according to others’ relative contributions, irrespective of their social identity affiliations. We discuss the implications of our findings on how distributive norms could shape team cooperation.

Suggested Citation

  • Lu Dong & Lingbo Huang, 2018. "Favoritism and Fairness in Teams," Games, MDPI, vol. 9(3), pages 1-15, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jgames:v:9:y:2018:i:3:p:65-:d:168048
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Klaus Abbink & Lu Dong & Lingbo Hugang, 2018. "Talking Behind Your Back: Asymmetric Communication in a Three-person Dilemma," Discussion Papers 2018-11, The Centre for Decision Research and Experimental Economics, School of Economics, University of Nottingham.
    2. Klaus Abbink & Lu Dong & Lingbo Huang, 2022. "Talking Behind Your Back: Communication and Team Cooperation," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 68(7), pages 5187-5200, July.

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