Publication details

The Pied Piper: Prizes, Incentives, and Motivation Crowding-in

Authors

BRUNI Luigino PELLIGRA Vittorio REGGIANI Tommaso RIZZOLLI Matteo

Year of publication 2020
Type Article in Periodical
Magazine / Source Journal of Business Ethics
MU Faculty or unit

Faculty of Economics and Administration

Citation
Web https://www.springer.com/philosophy/ethics+and+moral+philosophy/journal/10551
Doi http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10551-019-04154-3
Keywords Incentives; prizes; awards; crowding-in; meaning; intrinsic motivation
Attached files
Description In mainstream business and economics, prizes such as the Presidential Medal of Freedom are understood as special types of incentives, with the peculiar features of being awarded in public, and of having largely symbolic value. Informed by both historical considerations and philosophical instances, our study defines fundamental theoretical differences between incentives and prizes. The conceptual factors highlighted by our analytical framework are then tested through a laboratory experiment. The experimental exercise aims to analyze how prizes and incentives impact actual individuals’ behavior differently. Our results show that both incentives (monetary and contingent) and prizes (non-monetary and discretional rewards) boost motivation to perform if awarded publicly, but only prizes crowd-in motivation promoting virtuous attitude.

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