Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/142183 
Year of Publication: 
2016
Series/Report no.: 
ZEW Discussion Papers No. 16-043
Publisher: 
Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung (ZEW), Mannheim
Abstract: 
This paper makes use of two field experiments to explore individual effort responses to gifts. We extend the literature by looking at nonfinancial gifts and gifts that combine financial and nonfinancial elements with or without adding a 'personal touch.' We find that non-pecuniary gifts that signal worker appreciation induce reciprocity. Most importantly, we find that there are interaction effects between money and appreciation. While money and appreciation are individually effective, they only work well together when they are combined with a personal touch. This points to the importance of interpersonal elements in gift giving and has important implications for how to effectively elicit worker effort.
Subjects: 
gift exchange
reciprocity
employee performance
pro-social behavior
gratitude
personal touch
field experiment
JEL: 
C93
M52
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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