Inspirational Goal Reminders

Last registered on July 26, 2021
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Inspirational Goal Reminders
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0007999
Initial registration date
July 24, 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
July 26, 2021, 1:45 PM EDT

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

Locations

Country
Sweden
Region
Countrywide

Primary Investigator

Name
Dongkyu Chang
Affiliation
City University of Hong Kong
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Doug J. Chung
PI Affiliation
Harvard University
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2017-08-22
End date
2017-10-16
Keywords
Behavior, Firms & Productivity, Labor
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
C93, D91
Secondary IDs
Abstract
This study examines the role of inspirational goal reminders. We collaborated with a major Nordic organization to conduct a field experiment with full-time employees. The employees in the treatment group received inspirational goal reminders—communication of goals that are marginally higher than the status quo—of their sales targets via cellular text messages. The employees in the control condition did not receive any reminders. We also tracked employee’s goal-progress-monitoring activities. We randomly selected the treatment and control groups across Sweden.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Chang , Dongkyu and Doug J. Chung. 2021. "Inspirational Goal Reminders." AEA RCT Registry. July 26. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.7999-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
We sent inspirational goal reminders (communication of goals that are marginally higher than the status quo) of employees’ sales targets via cellular text messages.
Intervention Start Date
2017-09-19
Intervention End Date
2017-10-16

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Sales performance
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Goal-progress-monitoring activities
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We sent inspirational goal reminders (communication of goals that are marginally higher than the status quo) of employees’ sales targets via cellular text messages. Both the experimental and pre-observation periods were for a month. The randomization was across stores in Sweden.

Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization was done via computer.
Randomization Unit
Store (consisted of about 4 employees)
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
Treatment group: 47 stores (220 employees)
Control group: 53 stores (341 employees)
Sample size: planned number of observations
14373 daily observations across two months
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
Treatment group: 2969 pre-treatment-period observations, 2587 treatment-period observations
Control group: 4360 pre-treatment-period observations, 4457 treatment-period observations
The unit of observations is employee-day.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
IRB Approval Date
IRB Approval Number
Analysis Plan

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
Yes
Intervention Completion Date
October 16, 2017, 12:00 +00:00
Data Collection Complete
Yes
Data Collection Completion Date
October 16, 2017, 12:00 +00:00
Final Sample Size: Number of Clusters (Unit of Randomization)
Treatment group (47 stores (220 employees)): 2969 pre-treatment-period observations, 2587 treatment-period observations
Control group (53 stores (341 employees)): 4360 pre-treatment-period observations, 4457 treatment-period observations
The unit of observations is employee-day.
Was attrition correlated with treatment status?
No
Final Sample Size: Total Number of Observations
14373 daily observations
Final Sample Size (or Number of Clusters) by Treatment Arms
Treatment group (47 stores (220 employees)) Control group (53 stores (341 employees))
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
No
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials