Field Experiments in Credence Goods

Last registered on July 20, 2023
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Field Experiments in Credence Goods
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0011643
Initial registration date
July 12, 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
July 20, 2023, 12:28 PM EDT

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

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Name
Daniel Woods
Affiliation
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Rudolf Kerschbamer
PI Affiliation
University of Innsbruck
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PI Name
Essi Kujansuu
PI Affiliation
University of Innsbruck
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PI Name
Luisa Lorè
PI Affiliation
University of Innsbruck
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PI Name
Daniel Neururer
PI Affiliation
University of Otago
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Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2023-07-14
End date
2024-06-30
Keywords
Firms & Productivity, Gender
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
https://osf.io/dyvgt/
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
We plan to study pricing behavior in the market for cellphone repair, which is a credence environment. Our main variable of interest is the price of repairing a cellphone. We conduct a field experiment in which actual market transactions are conducted in repairing a deliberately damaged cellphone. As a baseline, in all repair stores, we have the customer directly request that the damaged part is replaced. With a different customer in the same store, with the same cellphone model and problem, we have them state they do not know what is wrong with the phone. There are 6 treatments, and the random allocation of these treatments is done at the store level, using the random shuffling of a computer. The treatments are 3x2, with one dimension varying the gender of the customer. The other dimension varies what additional lines the customer is instructed to state (if any). The first is no additional lines, the second is insisting on getting replaced parts back and requiring contact before any repairs are conducted, and the third is stating that they trust the repairer to conduct the necessary repairs without being contacted first. We also elicit beliefs from the ‘mystery shoppers’ we use as customers, and have them play as a FM in an investment game, where the store in question will be the SM. The SM decision will be in a follow-up survey of stores, where other things like their personality traits and perceptions of their customers are asked.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Kerschbamer, Rudolf et al. 2023. "Field Experiments in Credence Goods." AEA RCT Registry. July 20. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.11643-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2023-07-14
Intervention End Date
2024-06-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Final price, in Euros, charged for repairing a cellphone
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Baseline (in all stores): Customer requests defective charging port is replaced
Treatments:
• Customer not knowing the cause of the problem
• Customer not knowing the cause of the problem, and insists on receiving any replaced parts back, as well as requiring contact before any repairs are conducted
• Customer not knowing the cause of the problem, and states that they trust the repairer to conduct straightforward repairs without being contacted first
Above 3 treatments are crossed 3x2 with gender. Therefore, there are 6 treatment arms.
Each store is visited twice, by 2 different customers of the same gender. One visit is the baseline, and the other visit is one of the treatments.
The target group is cellphone repair stores that are not part of a chain or franchise, and have their business details on Google Maps. The sample size is 180 stores.
The mystery shoppers we use as customers will complete questionnaires and belief elicitations, and there will be a follow-up survey of the stores.
Full details are attached to a pre-registration submission, which will be released when the trial is complete.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
A list of all eligible cellphone repair stores is randomly shuffled using a computer. Then, each store is sequentially assigned a treatment starting from the top of this list. This is to ensure an equal number of observations in each treatment. Stores that are unavailable for whatever reason will have their treatment reassigned to the next available one in the list. Further details are in the attached pre-registration document.
Randomization Unit
Cell-phone repair store
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
180 cellphone repair stores
Sample size: planned number of observations
360 cellphone repairs
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
There are 6 treatment arms. Each treatment arm will have 30 stores / 60 repairs.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Board for Ethical Questions in Science of the University of Innsbruck
IRB Approval Date
2023-07-11
IRB Approval Number
61/2023
Analysis Plan

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