The Effects of a Replacement Worker

Last registered on September 28, 2018
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
The Effects of a Replacement Worker
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0003364
Initial registration date
September 28, 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
September 28, 2018, 2:24 PM EDT

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

Locations

Country
Germany
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Matthias Heinz
Affiliation
University of Cologne
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Nick Zubanov
PI Affiliation
University of Konstanz
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PI Name
Gerd Muehlheusser
PI Affiliation
University of Hamburg
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PI Name
Guido Friebel
PI Affiliation
Goethe-University Frankfurt
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Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2017-01-01
End date
2018-12-21
Keywords
Labor
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Abstract
We experimentally investigate the effects of providing franchisees with the opportunity to hire the services of a "floater" who can be booked at short notice in order to replace absent regular workers. The floater scheme is motivated by results from a survey showing that the incidence of absence among specific types of regular employees may lead to discriminatory hiring decisions. We will measure the effects of the floater scheme on several shop- and employee-level outcomes, such as hiring demographics, personnel planning (i.e., organizational slack), employee attitudes towards their job, colleagues and managers, and employee turnover.

External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Friebel, Guido et al. 2018. "The Effects of a Replacement Worker." AEA RCT Registry. September 28. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.3364-1.0
Former Citation
Friebel, Guido et al. 2018. "The Effects of a Replacement Worker." AEA RCT Registry. September 28. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/3364/history/34958
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
We experimentally investigate the effects of providing franchisees with the opportunity to hire the services of a "floater" who can be booked at short notice in order to replace absent regular workers. Our study firm is a network of bakery shops located in Germany. Our treatment is labeled the “floater scheme”.

The floater scheme is motivated by results from a survey showing that the incidence of absence among specific types of regular employees (for instance, young mothers) may lead to discriminatory hiring decisions.

We will measure the effects of the floater scheme on several shop- and employee-level outcomes, such as hiring demographics, personnel planning (i.e., organizational slack), employee attitudes towards their job, colleagues and managers, and employee turnover. In addition, we will perform extra surveys to learn about the mechanisms behind the observed treatment effects, and the perceptions of the Springer scheme by the affected workers and shop managers.

We start, in October 2018, with a three-month pilot project involving a sample of 30 shops in a metropolitan area that are reachable by the replacement worker within a reasonable travel time. This sample, while not fully random, is comparable to other shops in the region in terms of size, sales and employee characteristics. Depending on the results of this pilot study, operational feasibility in particular, we will consider a gradual roll-out of the floater scheme to the entire network.

Intervention Start Date
2018-10-01
Intervention End Date
2018-12-21

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Hiring demographics, personnel planning (i.e., organizational slack)
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Employee attitudes towards their job, colleagues and managers, employee turnover
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We experimentally investigate the effects of providing franchisees with the opportunity to hire the services of a "floater" who can be booked at short notice in order to replace absent regular workers. Our study firm is a network of bakery shops located in Germany. Our treatment is labeled the “floater scheme”.

The floater scheme is motivated by results from a survey showing that the incidence of absence among specific types of regular employees (for instance, young mothers) may lead to discriminatory hiring decisions.

We will measure the effects of the floater scheme on several shop- and employee-level outcomes, such as hiring demographics, personnel planning (i.e., organizational slack), employee attitudes towards their job, colleagues and managers, and employee turnover. In addition, we will perform extra surveys to learn about the mechanisms behind the observed treatment effects, and the perceptions of the Springer scheme by the affected workers and shop managers.

We start, in October 2018, with a three-month pilot project involving a sample of 30 shops in a metropolitan area that are reachable by the replacement worker within a reasonable travel time. This sample, while not fully random, is comparable to other shops in the region in terms of size, sales and employee characteristics. Depending on the results of this pilot study, operational feasibility in particular, we will consider a gradual roll-out of the floater scheme to the entire network.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
30 shops in a metropolitan area that are reachable by the replacement worker within a reasonable travel time.
Randomization Unit
Shop
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
65 bakeries
Sample size: planned number of observations
30 (treatment) + 35 (control) bakeries
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
Treatment: 30 bakeries; control: 35 bakeries in the same region
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Goethe-University Frankfurt
IRB Approval Date
2018-09-01
IRB Approval Number
N/A
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