Looking after number two? Competition, cooperation and workplace interaction

Tim Barmby; John G. Sessions; Alexandros Zangelidis

doi:10.1016/j.jebo.2016.08.001

Looking after number two? Competition, cooperation and workplace interaction

Tim Barmby, John G. Sessions, Alexandros Zangelidis

University of Bath

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3 Citations (Scopus)

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Abstract

We look for cooperation in a real-world setting in which optometrists absent less frequently in two-chair than one-chair offices because of the externality such behavior imposes on their co-worker. We motivate our empirical analysis by developing a model of worker interdependence in which two workers can either compete or cooperate. We show that, relative to a single worker working in isolation, competition unequivocally increases absence whilst cooperation may increase or decrease absence. Our empirical analysis of a unique data set finds explicit support for cooperative behavior.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	166-182
Number of pages	17
Journal	Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization
Volume	131
Issue number	Part A
Early online date	16 Aug 2016
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2016.08.001
Publication status	Published - Nov 2016

Bibliographical note

We have benefitted from discussions with seminar participants at the Universities of Bath and Sheffield and with participants at the Institute for Labour Law and Industrial Relations in the European Union (IAAEU) Workshop on Absenteeism. We are also greatly indebted to the Editor of this journal for insightful comments. The normal disclaimer applies.

Keywords

absence
worker interdependency

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10.1016/j.jebo.2016.08.001Licence: Unspecified

Looking After Number Two
© 2016. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Accepted author manuscript, 2.65 MBLicence: CC BY-NC-ND

Alexandros Zangelidis
- Business School, Economics - Personal Chair
- Business School, Centre for Labour Market Research (CeLMR)
Person: Academic

Cite this

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Looking after number two? Competition, cooperation and workplace interaction

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

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Alexandros Zangelidis

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