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Does Monitoring Decrease Work Effort?

Author

Listed:
  • David Dickinson

    (Department of Economics - Appalachian State University - UNC - University of North Carolina System)

  • Marie Claire Villeval

    (GATE - Groupe d'analyse et de théorie économique - UL2 - Université Lumière - Lyon 2 - ENS LSH - Ecole Normale Supérieure Lettres et Sciences Humaines - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

Abstract
Agency theory assumes that tighter monitoring by the principal should motivate agents to increase their effort, whereas the "crowding-out" literature suggests that the opposite may occur. These two assertions are not necessarily contradictory provided that the nature of the employment relationship is taken into account (Frey 1993). Results from controlled laboratory experiments show that many principals engage in costly monitoring, and most agents react to the disciplining effect of monitoring by increasing effort. However, we also find some evidence that effort is crowded out when monitoring is above a certain threshold. We identify that both interpersonal principal/agent links and concerns for the distribution of output payoff are important for the emergence of this crowding-out effect.

Suggested Citation

  • David Dickinson & Marie Claire Villeval, 2008. "Does Monitoring Decrease Work Effort?," Post-Print halshs-00276284, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-00276284
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://shs.hal.science/halshs-00276284
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    File URL: https://shs.hal.science/halshs-00276284/document
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    principal-agent theory; monitoring; crowding-out; motivation; real effort experiment;
    All these keywords.

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