Abuse of managerial power and workplace ethics training

Last registered on February 15, 2023

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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title

Abuse of managerial power and workplace ethics training

RCT ID

AEARCTR-0010408

Initial registration date

November 28, 2022

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published

November 30, 2022, 3:30 PM EST

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Last updated

February 15, 2023, 8:27 PM EST

Last updated is the most recent time when changes to the trial's registration were published.

Locations

Country

United States of America

Region

Primary Investigator

Name

Yee Wah Lisa Chan

Affiliation

Monash University

Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name

Liang Choon Wang

PI Affiliation

Monash University

Contact Investigator

PI Name

Birendra Rai

PI Affiliation

Monash University

Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status

In development

Start date

2022-12-02

End date

2023-03-31

Keywords

Behavior, Labor

Additional Keywords

JEL code(s)

Secondary IDs

Prior work

This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.

Abstract

The delegation of power by firms to managers is common among hierarchically structured organisations. However, power can be abused by managers for their own self-interest to the detriment of subordinates and firms. Using an online randomised controlled experiment, we will analyse whether training affects the incidence of abuse of power by the manager, and whether this depends on the level of power.

External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation

Chan, Yee Wah Lisa, Birendra Rai and Liang Choon Wang. 2023. "Abuse of managerial power and workplace ethics training." AEA RCT Registry. February 15. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.10408-1.2

Sponsors & Partners

Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)

Intervention Start Date

2022-12-02

Intervention End Date

2023-01-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)

1) A binary variable equal to 1 if the Firm chooses high power (F2), and 0 otherwise.
2) A variable capturing the Firm’s choice of gender for their Manager (Male, Female or Chance).
3) A binary variable equal to 1 if the Manager in the low-power scenario (F1) chooses to misuse their power (M2), and 0 otherwise.
4) A binary variable equal to 1 if the Manager in the high-power scenario (F2) chooses to misuse their power (M4), and 0 otherwise.

Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)

Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

The study will involve an online controlled experiment where we will investigate the effect of workplace ethics training on the firm's choice of power and the manager's abuse of power in the workplace. The main treatment will be randomly assigned, and consists of an online training module.

Experimental Design Details

Participants will be assigned to one of three roles (Firm, Manager, or Subordinate) and randomly matched with two other participants to form groups of three. The experiment will be rolled out sequentially such that we will recruit each role separately (first Firms, then Managers, and finally Subordinates). Firms and Subordinates will be randomly assigned to training, resulting in two treatment groups (Training or No Training). In contrast, Managers will be first randomly assigned to training, and then within each Training and No Training group, they will be further assigned a power level (Low Power or High Power) based on the actual choices of Firms. This will result in four treatment groups for the Manager: (1) Low Power x No Training (2) Low Power x Training (3) High Power x No Training (4) High Power x Training. Choices will be elicited after the training module is completed. The training module consists of facts about workplace bullying and hypothetical scenarios on unethical behaviour in the workplace.

Randomization Method

Randomization done by a computer (randomizer in Qualtrics)

Randomization Unit

Individual

Was the treatment clustered?

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters

400 individuals in the role of the Firm
400 individuals in the role of the Manager
400 individuals in the role of the Subordinate

Sample size: planned number of observations

1200 individuals (400 individuals in the role of the Firm, 400 individuals in the role of the Manager, 400 individuals in the role of the Subordinate)

Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms

200 individuals in the role of the Firm no training, 200 individuals in the role of the Firm training
200 individuals in the role of the Manager no training, 200 individuals in the role of the Manager training
200 individuals in the role of the Subordinate no training, 200 individuals in the role of the Subordinate training

Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)

Supporting Documents and Materials

IRB