Incentivizing Pro-social Behavior of Gig Workers - Evidence from an Experiment

Last registered on December 20, 2024

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Incentivizing Pro-social Behavior of Gig Workers - Evidence from an Experiment
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0015064
Initial registration date
December 20, 2024

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
December 20, 2024, 3:07 PM EST

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

Last updated
December 20, 2024, 11:57 PM EST

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

Locations

Region

Primary Investigator

Affiliation
Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Affiliation
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
PI Affiliation
Shansong Company

Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2024-07-01
End date
2024-09-30
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
An on-demand courier company conducted city-level randomization from July to September 2024, dividing its more than 300 operating cities in mainland China into three groups: A, B, and C. In the Group A cities, the platform’s flexible workers (riders) are informed that they can earn platform tokens (which can be redeemed for priority order access) by performing good deeds. In the Group B cities, couriers are told that by doing good deeds, they have the chance to earn platform badges (both physical and displayed in the app). In the Group C cities, couriers are encouraged to do good deeds, but no reward is given. We studied how the mood of the riders affects their pro-social behavior and how their pro-social behavior interacts with their normal business, and how the company's pro-social campaign helps with its brand image, hence affecting its competition with other platforms.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
han, ruobing, Ying Liu and Peng Xue. 2024. "Incentivizing Pro-social Behavior of Gig Workers - Evidence from an Experiment ." AEA RCT Registry. December 20. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.15064-1.1
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention (Hidden)
Intervention Start Date
2024-07-01
Intervention End Date
2024-09-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
The take-up of pro-social behaviors among three groups/arms.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
How the mood of riders affects their pro-social behaviors.
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
An on-demand courier company conducted city-level randomization from July to September 2024, dividing its more than 300 operating cities in mainland China into three groups: A, B, and C. In the Group A cities, the platform’s flexible workers (riders) are informed that they can earn platform tokens (which can be redeemed for priority order access) by performing good deeds. In the Group B cities, couriers are told that by doing good deeds, they have the chance to earn platform badges (both physical and displayed in the app). In the Group C cities, couriers are encouraged to do good deeds, but no reward is given. We studied how the mood of the riders affects their pro-social behavior and how their pro-social behavior interacts with their normal business, and how the company's pro-social campaign helps with its brand image, hence affecting its competition with other platforms.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Determined by company's algorithms
Randomization Unit
City
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
3 groups of cities, 100+ in each group
Sample size: planned number of observations
about 10000+ riders
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
3 groups of cities, 100+ in each group, riders in each city have the same treatment.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Institutional Review Board of CUHK shenzhen
IRB Approval Date
2024-11-28
IRB Approval Number
CUHKSZ-D-20240064

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