The Value of Executive Communication

Last registered on December 19, 2019

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
The Value of Executive Communication
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0002754
Initial registration date
March 01, 2018

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
March 01, 2018, 9:47 PM EST

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

Last updated
December 19, 2019, 5:08 PM EST

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

Locations

Region

Primary Investigator

Affiliation
Harvard University

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2018-02-19
End date
2020-12-31
Secondary IDs
Abstract
I run a field experiment to study the value of executive communication on worker productivity and behavior.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Kim, Hyunjin. 2019. "The Value of Executive Communication." AEA RCT Registry. December 19. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.2754-1.1
Former Citation
Kim, Hyunjin. 2019. "The Value of Executive Communication." AEA RCT Registry. December 19. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/2754/history/59326
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Weekly communications from the top management team.
Intervention Start Date
2018-02-28
Intervention End Date
2018-05-07

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Crew productivity and behavior
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
Crew productivity is measured by daily crew output for each activity. For tree trimming crews, we measure lineal kilometers trimmed. For emergency response and field operations crews, we measure the number of tasks completed. For meter reading / bill delivery workers, we measure the number and percentage of meters read (or bills delivered).

Each crew's safety behavior is also measured, in two ways. Each crew receives two visits from a manager in the company per month, where the manager rates the crew as "positive" or "unsafe," and notes any safety issues. Also, every time anyone in the crew stops or is stopped for an unsafe behavior, it is recorded as a measure of how safely they are working (invoking stop work authority is considered safe, while a higher number of work stopped is considered unsafe).

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Crews of workers are randomly assigned to communication from top executives in the firm.

Experimental Design Details
Crews are assigned to one of four arms: (1) receiving a video for 8 weeks, general version; (2) receiving a video for 8 weeks, safety version; (3) receiving a video for last 4 weeks, general version; (4) receiving a video for last 4 weeks, safety version.
Randomization Method
Randomization done in office by a computer, stratified by worker activity and technical base
Randomization Unit
Crews (composed of individual workers) were randomized into one of 4 experimental conditions, stratified by worker activity and technical base.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
642 crews.
Sample size: planned number of observations
642 crews (consisting of 1180 workers)
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
161 crews receiving general videos for all 8 weeks, 161 crews receiving safety videos for all 8 weeks, 160 crews receiving general videos for the last 4 weeks, 160 crews receiving safety videos for the last 4 weeks.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Harvard University Institutional Review Board
IRB Approval Date
2017-11-16
IRB Approval Number
IRB17-1696

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

There is information in this trial unavailable to the public. Use the button below to request access.

Request Information

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