Purpose and Productivity: Evidence from a Cross-Country Field Experiment

Last registered on February 05, 2019

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Purpose and Productivity: Evidence from a Cross-Country Field Experiment
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0003849
Initial registration date
February 01, 2019

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
February 05, 2019, 1:31 AM EST

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

Locations

Region
Region
Region
Region
Region
Region
Region
Region
Region
Region
Region
Region
Region

Primary Investigator

Affiliation
The London School of Economics

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Affiliation
The London School of Economics
PI Affiliation
The London School of Economics

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2019-02-04
End date
2023-12-31
Secondary IDs
Abstract
Differences in productivity may be driven by heterogeneity in skills but also the extent to which individuals are motivated to do their job over and above financial compensation. The proposed research will unpack the sources of intrinsic motivation and test whether these can be leveraged to increase productivity. To do so we will run a cross-country field experiment in collaboration with a multinational company that offers one-day workshops that guide employees on how to connect their individual purpose with their work. We will randomise the roll-out of the workshops and track outcomes such as productivity and performance on the job, turnover, job changes, job satisfaction, team engagement and wellbeing. We will also investigate how individual responses differ across cultures, and how norms interact with identical HR policies.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Ashraf, Nava, Oriana Bandiera and Virginia Minni. 2019. "Purpose and Productivity: Evidence from a Cross-Country Field Experiment." AEA RCT Registry. February 05. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.3849-1.0
Former Citation
Ashraf, Nava, Oriana Bandiera and Virginia Minni. 2019. "Purpose and Productivity: Evidence from a Cross-Country Field Experiment." AEA RCT Registry. February 05. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/3849/history/41011
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention (Hidden)
Intervention Start Date
2019-02-13
Intervention End Date
2021-12-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Connection between individual purpose and work (upload of individual purpose statement on the company’s platform, categorisation of purpose statements, feedback from surveys); Function specific productivity measures (e.g. sales incentive payments, on shelf availability of products, stock availability); Individual and team level performance (performance scores, bonus factors); Employee transfers, job changes, promotions and turnover (HR data); Motivation, team engagement, job satisfaction and subjective wellbeing (survey measures)
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We randomly assign the employees of the partner organization to a one-day workshop that guides them on how to connect their individual purpose with their work. One week after the workshop, an online survey is implemented to validate and understand better the impact of the intervention and its mechanisms. In addition, both the treatment and the control group receive two online surveys, six months apart, to track job satisfaction, team engagement and wellbeing before and after the workshops. The control group will be able to attend the workshop at a later stage (at least six months after the last workshop for the treatment group).
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization done in office by a random number generator.
Randomization Unit
Individual level randomization.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
Not clustered.
Sample size: planned number of observations
The sample of employees will comprise between 5000 and 7000 individuals.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
50% of the total sample assigned to the treatment group and 50% to control. Assuming that the number of employees will be approximately 6000, this means: 3000 individuals in the treatment group and 3000 in the control group.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
LSE Research Ethics Committee
IRB Approval Date
2018-11-29
IRB Approval Number
000784

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