The anatomy of competitiveness

Thomas Buser and Hessel Oosterbeek

No 23-031/I, Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers from Tinbergen Institute

Abstract: A large empirical literature in behavioral economics investigates heterogeneity across individuals and groups in preferences for competition. In this study, we provide a more detailed view on competitiveness by differentiating between four different motivations for entering competitions – enjoyment of competition, desire to win, competition for personal development, and general challenge seeking. We investigate which of these dimensions are picked up by traditional measures of competitiveness; how they predict individual and gender differences in career outcomes including income, holding a leadership position, and entrepreneurship; how they predict wellbeing; and how they relate to other personality traits, skills, and preferences.

Keywords: competitiveness; personality traits; labor market outcomes; leadership; gender (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C92 D91 J24 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-exp, nep-lma, nep-mfd and nep-spo
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Related works:
Working Paper: The Anatomy of Competitiveness (2023)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:tin:wpaper:20230031

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