The way you see the problem is the problem

Last registered on September 27, 2019

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
The way you see the problem is the problem
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0004744
Initial registration date
September 27, 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
September 27, 2019, 11:10 AM EDT

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

Locations

Region

Primary Investigator

Affiliation
BOCCONI UNIVERSITY

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Affiliation
BOCCONI UNIVERISUTY
PI Affiliation
BOCCONI UNIVERISUTY

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2019-11-09
End date
2019-11-10
Secondary IDs
Abstract
The goal of this study is to examine the effects of performance target on business idea generation and selection performances within entrepreneurial teams. We plan to embed a field experiment in a one-day hackathon by randomly assigning entrepreneurial teams into either a treatment (high financial target in terms of profitability) or a control (low financial target in terms of profitability) conditions.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
LIU, SHANMING, DANILO MESSINESE and CHIARA SPINA. 2019. "The way you see the problem is the problem." AEA RCT Registry. September 27. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.4744-1.0
Sponsors & Partners

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Entrepreneurial teams will be randomly assigned by using STATA into two conditions. Entrepreneurial teams in both conditions will be asked to generate, select, develop and pitch business ideas in the field of fashion. Entrepreneurial teams in the treatment condition will be asked to generate and select business ideas that potentially yield a considerable amount of profits, whereas entrepreneurial teams in the control condition will be asked to generate and select business ideas that potentially yield some profits.
Intervention Start Date
2019-11-09
Intervention End Date
2019-11-10

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Key outcome variables in the field experiment will be the novelty, feasibility, and marketability of the generated and selected business idea(s).
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Sampling
We will select entrepreneurial teams through a call for applications advertising a Hackathon event for aspiring entrepreneurs. The call will be advertised online and entrepreneurs can apply through the website of the event. We expect 30~40 entrepreneurial teams to participate in this Hackathon event. Participants will sign an agreement where we inform them of their participation to the Hackathon which is part of a randomized controlled trial and where we ensure compliance with the European regulation on data protection.

Procedure:
The Hackathon will take place on 9th November, from 8am to 10pm. At the beginning of the hackathon, entrepreneurial teams in the treatment condition will be asked to generate and select business ideas. At the end of the hackathon, each team will pitch the business idea in front of a group of judges. The judges will rate each team’s business idea based on the given criteria. The team ranks in the first place will be awarded by 1) co-working space at a well-known incubator for 6 months; 2) legal consultancy specializing in start-up and 3) 10 hours of Mentorship.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
The entrepreneurial teams will be randomly assigned into two conditions using randomization function in STATA.
Randomization Unit
We have two levels of randomization:

First, we randomly allocate the individual participants (who are not sign up as a team) into teams;
Second, we randomly assign teams into two conditions.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
We expect around 30~40 teams to participate in the hackathon event, depends on how many participants sign up the event.
Sample size: planned number of observations
We expect 90 to 160 participants as each team will have three to four team members
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
15~20 teams in the control condition, 15~20 teams in the treatment condition.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Ethics Committee of Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi
IRB Approval Date
2019-09-16
IRB Approval Number
Prot n. 14354-1

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