Faces, image concerns, goal-setting and workplace performance

Last registered on April 13, 2023

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Faces, image concerns, goal-setting and workplace performance
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0011072
Initial registration date
April 10, 2023

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
April 13, 2023, 4:05 PM EDT

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

Locations

Region

Primary Investigator

Affiliation

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Affiliation

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2023-04-12
End date
2023-06-24
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
Using a field experiment, we explore how image concerns influence workplace goal-setting (i.e. employee ambition) and subsequent employee productivity. The industry partner is a debt-collection firm with a workforce of agents working on debt repayment.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Huang, Lidingrong and Paul Smeets. 2023. "Faces, image concerns, goal-setting and workplace performance." AEA RCT Registry. April 13. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.11072-1.0
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
The employees of a company operating in the Philippines are randomised into one control and two treated groups.

For the control group, they will be asked to set their goals in terms of quantifiable key performance indicators for the next 30 days (i.e. goal-setting exercise). This exercise is to be well-incorporated into day-to-day workplace activities of the employees.

For the treatment group #1, they will be asked to do the same goal-setting exercise as in the control group, the only treatment manipulation here is that before the exercise they will be exposed to facial information #1.

For the treatment group #2, they will be asked to do the same goal-setting exercise, the only treatment manipulation here is that before the exercise they will be exposed to facial information #2.
Intervention Start Date
2023-04-12
Intervention End Date
2023-06-12

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Key outcome variable #1: Employee ambition as measured by the goal-setting exercise.
Key outcome variable #2: Employee productivity as measured by the key performance indicators.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
Employee ambition is measured using the goal-setting exercise. Employees who are more ambitious would set higher goals. The exercise consists of a list of 4 goal-setting questions for the future period of 30 days.

#1:Expected number of debt repayment accounts entering a payment agreement
#2:Expected amount of confirmed debt repayment
#3:Expected number of completed accounts or on-going accounts
#4:Expected RPCs.

All are quantifiable and are used in a simple OLS regression as the key outcome variables.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
We may also look into a randomly chosen set of employee call recordings to assess whether the goal-setting treatment would raise the aggressiveness of the tone of voice used in talking to the debtors.
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The employees of a company operating in the Philippines are randomised into one control and two treated groups.

For the control group, they will be asked to set their goals in terms of quantifiable key performance indicators for the next 30 days (i.e. goal-setting exercise). This exercise is to be well-incorporated into day-to-day workplace activities of the employees.

For the treatment group #1, they will be asked to do the same goal-setting exercise as in the control group, the only treatment manipulation here is that before the exercise they will be exposed to facial information.

For the treatment group #2, they will be asked to do the same goal-setting exercise, the only treatment manipulation here is that before the exercise they will be exposed to facial information.

The controls are employee age, employee tenure, employees' city class, and their gender.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomisation of subjects is done via office computer.
Randomization Unit
At the individual employee level.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
700.
Sample size: planned number of observations
700.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
Around 230 in each experimental group.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
The Economics & Business Ethics Committee (EBEC) at the University of Amsterdam
IRB Approval Date
2023-03-15
IRB Approval Number
EB-1129

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials