2022- Reprints: Marketing
Misaligned mindsets between borrowers and lenders of small interpersonal loans, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 169, 2022
C. Morvinski and Y. Shani
(Reprint No. 394)
Research no.: 00320100
In a series of six experiments, conducted in both field and laboratory settings, we demonstrate in the context of small interpersonal loans between friends, that individuals operate under different mindsets depending on their role in the loan (lender vs. borrower), which consequently leads to misaligned repayment expectations. Lenders, operating under a communal mindset, do not expect borrowers to repay small amounts that borrowers, operating under an exchange mindset, intend to repay. We show that the two-mindset hypothesis is both state- and trait-dependent and discuss how the observed repayment expectation gap may explain why many small interpersonal debts remain unpaid. We also discuss the contribution to social and economics literature, implications for interpersonal relationships, and directions for future research.
The impact of social investing on charitable donations, Management Science, 2022
J. An, D. Briley, S. Danziger and S. Levi
(Reprint No. 396)
Research no.: 02180100
We examine the impact of social investing on charitable donations using a unique data set consisting of investment behaviors and donation transactions for more than 10,000 customers of an investment app platform. We find that investors switching to a recently introduced social fund reduced their donations, mainly in charities supporting causes similar to those of the social fund. However, 79% of the investors that switched to the social fund did not donate before switching, so the social fund attracted more people to fund social causes. Still, because of the substitution effect, we estimate social funds have a positive effect on society only if their annual contributions to social causes are greater than 3.2% of the balance invested.
Medium is a powerful message: Pictures signal less power than words, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 169, 104132, 2022
E. Amit, S. Danziger and P.K. Smith
(Reprint No. 397)
This research shows people are perceived as less powerful when they use pictures versus words. This effect was found across picture types (company logos, emojis, and photographs) and use contexts (clothing prints, written messages, and Zoom profiles). Mediation analysis and a mediation-by-moderation design show this happens because picture-use signals a greater desire for social proximity (versus distance) than word-use, and a desire for social proximity is associated with lower power. Finally, we find that people strategically use words (pictures) when aiming to signal more (less) power. We refute alternative explanations including differences in the content of pictures and words, the medium’s perceived appropriateness, the context’s formality, and the target’s age and gender. Our research shows pictures and words are not interchangeable means of representation. Rather, they signal distinct social values with reputational consequences
