Research
My research examines how incentive systems – especially non-financial and relational incentives – shape motivation and performance in organizations, communities, and other parts of the knowledge economy. I also study related topics of societal relevance, such as gender gaps in self-promotion, recognition, and career advancement. Methodologically, I rely primarily on field experiments (e.g., large-scale “A/B tests”) in collaboration with firms, digital platforms, nonprofits, and public institutions. Most of my work is done in interdisciplinary teams where I have the pleasure of working with fantastic co-authors.
Work in progress (selection)
The “hidden” gender gap in self-promotion (w/ J. Chang and S. Saccardo). Revise & Resubmit.
The implications of breastfeeding for maternal time use (w/ A. Gandhi, J. Kao, K. Wang). Revise & Resubmit.
Motivating customer feedback: Why impact appeals can backfire and how to make them work (w/ J. Reiff, H. Dai, A. McClough, S. Eitniear, M. Slick, C. Blank). Revise & Resubmit.
From warm glow to cold chill: The effect of choice framing on donations (w/ I. Brody, H. Dai, K. Koutmeridou). Under review.
Elevators versus staircases: Gendered navigation of promotional pathways (w/ J. He, L. Cupal, H. Caruso, C. Bendersky). Under review.
Well, that didn't work: Learning from failed field experiments (w/ S. Hasan, C. Spina, et al.). Under review.
Voiced and valued: How attributing change to employee voice affects attitudes and behavior. (w/ I. Brody, H. Dai, J. Reiff, S. Saccardo, UCLA Health Department of Medicine). Manuscript in preparation.
Symbolic incentives in high-stakes public goods contexts: A field experiment on motivating convalescent plasma donations during the COVID-19 pandemic (w/ J. Cervantez, J. Saleska). Working Paper, 2023, extension in progress.
Recognition and reputation as drivers of open source success: A field experiment (w/ E. Ytsma, J. Tan, G. Martynus). In progress, check it out.
Communication and innovation: Evidence from Open Source (w/ H. Fang, J. Tan, E. Ytsma). In progress.
Journal publications
Awards: Tangibility, self-signaling and signaling to others (J. Gallus, S. Campbell, and U. Gneezy), Experimental Economics, 2025: https://doi.org/10.1017/eec.2025.10021.
When peer comparison information harms physician well-being (J. Reiff, J.C. Zhang, J. Gallus, H. Dai, N. Pedley, S. Vangala, R.K. Leuchter, C.R. Fox, M. Han, D.M. Croymans). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2022, 119 (29). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2121730119. [Download]
Relational incentives theory (with Joseph Reiff, Emir Kamenica, and Alan P. Fiske). Psychological Review, 2022, 129 (3): 586-602. [Link] [Free download]
The demotivating effect (and unintended message) of awards (with Carly D. Robinson, Monica G. Lee, and Todd Rogers). Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 2021, 163: 51-64. [Download]
Gender, authority and emotion in the collaborative production of knowledge on Wikipedia (with Sudeep Bhatia). Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 2020, 160: 115-130. [Download]
Awards and the gender gap in knowledge contributions in STEM (with Emma Heikensten). American Economic Association Papers and Proceedings, 2020, 110: 241-244. [Download]
Fostering public good contributions with symbolic awards: A large-scale natural field experiment at Wikipedia. Management Science, 2017, 63(12): 3999-4015. [Download]
Abridged version published in Proceedings of the 76th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management. Online ISSN: 2151-6561
Awards: A strategic management perspective (with Bruno S. Frey). Strategic Management Journal, 2016, 37(8): 1699-1714. [Download] [Video abstract]
Awards as strategic signals (with Bruno S. Frey). Journal of Management Inquiry, 2017, 26(1): 76-85.
Towards an economics of awards (with Bruno S. Frey). Journal of Economic Surveys, 2017, 31(1): 190-200.
External influence as an indicator of scholarly importance (with Ho Fai Chan, Bruno S. Frey, Markus Schaffner, Benno Torgler, and Stephen Whyte). CESifo Economic Studies, 2016, 62(1): 170-195.
Honors: A rational choice analysis of award bestowals (with Bruno S. Frey). Rationality and Society, 2016, 28(3): 255-269.
Awards as non-monetary incentives (with Bruno S. Frey). Evidence-based HRM, 2016, 4(1): 81-91.
Academic honors and performance (with Ho Fai Chan, Bruno S. Frey, and Benno Torgler). Labour Economics, 2014, 31: 188-204.
Do the best scholars attract the highest speaking fees? An exploration of internal and external influence (with Ho Fai Chan, Bruno S. Frey, Markus Schaffner, Benno Torgler, and Stephen Whyte). Scientometrics, 2014, 101: 793-817.
The power of awards (with Bruno S. Frey). The Economists’ Voice, 2014, 11(1): 1-5.
Open issues in happiness research (with Bruno S. Frey and Lasse Steiner). International Review of Economics, 2014, 61(2): 115-125.
Aggregate effects of behavioral anomalies: A new research area (with Bruno S. Frey). Economics: The Open-Access, Open-Assessment E-Journal, 2014, 8(2014-18): 1-15.
Political economy of happiness (with Bruno S. Frey). Applied Economics, 2013, 45(30): 4205-4211.
Subjective well-being and policy (with Bruno S. Frey). Topoi –International Review of Philosophy, 2013, 32(2): 207-212.
Happiness policy and economic development (with Bruno S. Frey). International Journal of Happiness and Development, 2012, 1(1): 102-111.
Book publication,
Book chapters
Honours versus Money: The Economics of Awards (with Bruno S. Frey). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2017.
Motivation and awards (with Bruno S. Frey). In: Cambridge Handbook of Psychology and Economic Behaviour, 2nd edition, Alan Lewis (Ed.). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2018.
Volunteer organizations: Motivating with awards (with Bruno S. Frey). In: Economic Psychology: The Science of Economic Mental Life and Behaviour, Rob Ranyard (Ed.). Malden, US: Wiley/Blackwell, 2017.
Happiness: Research and policy considerations (with Bruno S. Frey). In: Happiness, Tachibanaki Toshiaki (Ed.). Welfare Plus Alpha, 2016.