Pay-for-performance incentives and individual creativity

Last registered on February 22, 2021

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Pay-for-performance incentives and individual creativity
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0007242
Initial registration date
February 22, 2021

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 22, 2021, 12:04 PM EST

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

Locations

Region

Primary Investigator

Affiliation

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2020-03-01
End date
2021-03-31
Secondary IDs
Abstract
Importance of project: Creativity is economically important, but is typically one of many goals in a business environment. Given that producing creative output involves a financial cost, a crucial question facing firms is how direct incentives on creativity affect cost efficiency.

Methods: I use a lab experiment where participants complete a task that can vary in two dimensions (creativity and cost efficiency), and face pay-for-performance incentives specific to one dimension only. The experiment uses a within-subject design (participants complete both the control and one treatment condition). I randomly assign participants to one of six treatments, which vary in the incentivised goal (creativity, cost efficiency, or a flat payment regardless of performance but double the time limit), and the per-unit bonus ('low' or 'high').

Outcomes evaluated: Creativity of final output, cost efficiency of final output, and cost effectiveness of each treatment condition relative to the control condition (units of creativity per dollar spent on each treatment group).
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Tipoe, Eileen. 2021. "Pay-for-performance incentives and individual creativity." AEA RCT Registry. February 22. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.7242-1.0
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Participants will be assigned to one of six treatment conditions, which vary in how their bonus from the task is determined (creativity, cost efficiency, or a flat payment regardless of performance), and the size of the per-unit bonus ('low' or 'high').
Intervention Start Date
2020-03-01
Intervention End Date
2021-03-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Performance on the task (creativity and cost efficiency of the outputs produced), and cost effectiveness of each treatment (units of creativity per dollar spent).
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The experiment uses a within-subject design (participants complete both the control and one treatment condition). Participants will be randomly assigned to one of six treatments, and will complete the treatment and control tasks in a random order.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization done by survey software (Qualtrics)
Randomization Unit
Individual randomisation across treatments
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
550 individuals
Sample size: planned number of observations
550 individuals
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
550 individuals, approximately 90 individuals per treatment.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Oxford University Department of Economics Research Ethics Committee
IRB Approval Date
2020-02-20
IRB Approval Number
ECONCIA21-21-02

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