Generalized reciprocity is a widely recognized but little studied component of social capital in organizations. We develop a causal model of the multiple mechanisms that sustain generalized reciprocity in an organization, drawing together disparate literatures in the social, organizational, and biological sciences. We conduct the first-ever critical test of two key mechanisms: paying it forward …
Tag Archives: Reciprocity
Sobel, J. (2005). Interdependent preferences and reciprocity. Journal of economic literature, 43(2), 392-436.
Experiments, ethnography, and introspection provide evidence economic agents do not act to maximize their narrowly defined self interest. Expanding the domain of preferences to include the utility of others provides a coherent way to extend rational choice theory.There are two approaches for including extended or social preferences in strategic models. One posits that agents have …
Fehr, E., &Gächter, S. (1998). Reciprocity and economics: The economic implications of Homo Reciprocans1.European economic review, 42(3-5), 845-859.
A large number of studies suggest that reciprocity constitutes a basic motivational drive. This paper shows that reciprocity can account for a wide range of empirical phenomena: It (1) is a powerful effort elicitation device, (2) explains why employers refuse to hire underbidders and, hence, why wages are downwardly rigid, (3) gives rise to non-compensating …