Competition between and within universities: Theoretical and experimental investigation of group identity and the desire to win

We study how group identity, based on university affiliation, impacts competitive behavior. Our experiment employs a simple all-pay auction within and between two university subject pools. Students within the lower-tier university bid more aggressively against each other than students within the top...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of economic psychology Vol. 93; p. 102551
Main Authors (Charlie) Chen, Zhuoqiong, Ong, David, Sheremeta, Roman
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Elsevier B.V 01.12.2022
Subjects
All-pay auction
Competitiveness
Experiments
Group identity
D03
Competitiveness
C91
All-pay auction
Experiments
J7
Z13
Group identity
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:We study how group identity, based on university affiliation, impacts competitive behavior. Our experiment employs a simple all-pay auction within and between two university subject pools. Students within the lower-tier university bid more aggressively against each other than students within the top-tier university against each other. Lower-tier students, particularly females, bid more aggressively when competing against top-tier students. Interpreted through a theoretical model that incorporates both group identity and differential valuation of winning, our data indicate that students at the lower-tier university have a stronger group identity as well as a higher desire to win.
ISSN:0167-4870
1872-7719
DOI:10.1016/j.joep.2022.102551