Effect of Peer Information and Peer Communication on Working Performance

This study aims to investigate and decompose the effect of peers on work performance through two specific channels: peer performance information and peer communication. The participants performed a real-effort task of adding two highest numbers from a pair of 4x4 matrices and were paid by piece rate under four different treatments. The treatments differed in whether peer performance information on a randomly matched other participant was provided, and whether the matched participants could communicate via chatbox. Overall, I found no evidence of the significant peer effects through either peer performance information or through communication. However, the effects of these channels on the individual performance are found for some subsets of participants. The high performers reported communication to be a distraction rather than a cooperation opportunity with their partner; their productivity is reduced in the presence of the chatbox. For females, the individual productivity is significantly reduced in the presence of both peer performance information and communication via chatbox. My experimental results also connect to the literature on gender differences in the competitive environment.