The Hiring at Top Startups (HATS) Study

Last registered on April 13, 2023
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
The Hiring at Top Startups (HATS) Study
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0011086
Initial registration date
April 06, 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, 3:51 PM EDT

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

Locations

Country
United States of America
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Innessa Colaiacovo
Affiliation
Harvard Business School
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2023-04-12
End date
2023-05-05
Keywords
Firms & Productivity, Labor
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
J23, J33, L26
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
The Hiring at Top Startups (HATS) Study is a survey of U.S. entrepreneurs and startup executives designed to investigate how entrepreneurs hire employees and to examine their beliefs about wages. The survey first asks about the strategies and resources young firms use to search for talent and set compensation before asking entrepreneurs to recommend a wage for four job postings.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Colaiacovo, Innessa. 2023. "The Hiring at Top Startups (HATS) Study." AEA RCT Registry. April 13. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.11086-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Entrepreneurs will be asked for their best advice to four hypothetical startups about choosing wages for four fictitious job postings.
Intervention Start Date
2023-04-12
Intervention End Date
2023-05-01

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
The key outcome variables are survey respondents' initial wage offers, and their wage offers after being presented with wage benchmark information.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Invitations to take the survey will be send via post and email in April 2023. The survey is administered online via Qualtrics.
Experimental Design Details




Randomization Method
Randomization is done by Qualtrics.
Randomization Unit
Individual entrepreneurs (survey respondents).
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
N/A
Sample size: planned number of observations
Invitations will be sent to ~11,000 entrepreneurs.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
Respondents will be evenly divided into two treatment arms.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Harvard University Area Institutional Review Board (IRB Registration - IRB00000109)
IRB Approval Date
2023-03-22
IRB Approval Number
IRB23-0347
Analysis Plan

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