Me vs. We: The Effect of Incomplete Team Member Feedback on Cooperation of Self-Regarding Individuals

• In Event: Management Judgment and Decision Making

Abstract

In this paper, we examine the effect that feedback of team member contributions to team production has on individuals’ subsequent contributions to team production, specifically for individuals who are self-regarding (proselfs). Prior literature outlines the adverse effects that stem from free-riding and that self-regarding individuals or proselfs are apt to free-ride on the efforts of others. We evaluate how proselfs differentially respond to the type of feedback of team member contributions; input feedback (i.e., time contributed) compared to output feedback (i.e., production units contributed), and whether feedback type can mitigate the free-riding effect. We predict that when proselfs view low team member contributions they will respond more negatively following input than output feedback as input feedback can provide a stronger signal of effort choice and thus the low input feedback will be interpreted as more intended. Further, we predict that positive responses will be lower following input feedback compared to output feedback for proselfs as they are more likely to interpret input feedback in a self-serving manner, which tempers their positive responses. We provide corresponding experimental evidence that following input feedback proselfs respond more negatively to low team contributions and less positively to high team contributions compared to output feedback, and these responses to input feedback adversely affect team performance. This effect is somewhat mitigated for prosocials. These findings outline a potential benefit of output feedback that providing this type of feedback to team members can somewhat mitigate the free-riding effect of proselfs.

Authors

• Tyler F Thomas, University of Wisconsin-Madison

• Todd A Thornock, Iowa State University