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The effect of team consistency compared between a routine and creative task.
Last registered on February 27, 2020
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information
General Information
Title
The effect of team consistency compared between a routine and creative task.
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0005127
Initial registration date
February 05, 2020
Last updated
February 27, 2020 9:30 AM EST
Location(s)

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Primary Investigator
Name
Kirsten Thommes
Affiliation
Paderborn University
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Other Primary Investigator(s)
PI Name
Thorsten Auer
PI Affiliation
Paderborn University
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PI Name
Julia Amelie Hoppe
PI Affiliation
Paderborn University
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Additional Trial Information
Status
On going
Start date
2019-12-10
End date
2020-09-30
Keywords
Firms & Productivity, Labor
Additional Keywords
Teamwork
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Abstract
There is common ground to believe in a difference in productivity when people are working together depending on the consistency and the composition of the team with respect to their personal characteristics. The way teams are put and kept together is key to a successful organization. In this trial, we differentiate between creative and routine tasks as both working types require different aspects of interpersonal interaction and cognition. Personal characteristics of people in these kind of tasks are displayed to a varying extent and the influence of character traits and team consistency is arguably different. We focus on both effects in our evaluation of the trial. The trial consists of a two-person task of 4 minutes executed two times with a little break. In the treatment group, subject teams are randomly changed after 4 minutes, while in the control group teams are kept together for the overall 8 minutes. The creative task requires the teams to create pictures of given terms with given items. The routine task requires teams to repeat a certain combination on the keyboard alternately.
External Link(s)
Registration Citation
Citation
Auer, Thorsten, Julia Amelie Hoppe and Kirsten Thommes. 2020. "The effect of team consistency compared between a routine and creative task.." AEA RCT Registry. February 27. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.5127-1.1.
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details
Interventions
Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2019-12-10
Intervention End Date
2020-01-22
Primary Outcomes
Primary Outcomes (end points)
Quantity of the pictures constructed respectively the combinations typed as performed by the teams. Quality of the pictures independently rated and number of mistakes in combinations. Originality in the creative task evaluated by the used pieces compared among all teams to create the pictures.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
Secondary Outcomes
Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)
Experimental Design
Experimental Design
The trial consists of a two-person task of 4 minutes executed two times with a little break. In the treatment group, subject teams are randomly changed after 4 minutes, while in the control group teams are kept together for the overall 8 minutes. The creative task requires the teams to create pictures of given terms with given items. The routine task requires teams to repeat a certain combination on the keyboard alternately.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Subjects are randomly assigned to teams by drawing cards
Randomization Unit
Individual level
Was the treatment clustered?
No
Experiment Characteristics
Sample size: planned number of clusters
0
Sample size: planned number of observations
2 * 160 students (creative and routine task)
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
2 * 80 groups of two subjects (creative and routine task)
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB
INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARDS (IRBs)
IRB Name
Ethics committee of Paderborn University
IRB Approval Date
2019-11-29
IRB Approval Number
N/A
Analysis Plan