Moral Perceptions of Advised Actions

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Coffman, Lucas C.; Gotthard-Real, Alexander
• 署名单位: Harvard University; Pontificia Universidad Javeriana
• 刊物名称: MANAGEMENT SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0025-1909
• DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.2018.3134
• 发表日期: 2019
• 页码: 3904-3927
• 关键词: economics; behavior and behavioral decision making; Design of experiments; ECONOMICS; microeconomic behavior

摘要

Can an organization avoid blame for an unpopular action when an adviser advises it to do it? We present experimental evidence suggesting this is the case-advice to be selfish substantially decreases punishment of being selfish. Further, this result is true despite advisers' misaligned incentives, known to all: Through a relational contract incentive, advisers are motivated to tell the decision makers what they want to hear. Through incentivized elicitations, we find suggestive evidence that advice moves punishment by affecting beliefs of how necessary the selfish action was. In follow-up treatments, however, we show advice does not decrease punishment solely through a beliefs channel. Advice not only changes beliefs about what happened, but also the perceived morality of it. Finally, in treatments in which advisers are available, the data suggest selfish decision makers act more selfishly.