Author Abstract
Previous research often interprets the choice to restrict one's future opportunity set as evidence for sophisticated time inconsistency. We propose an additional mechanism that may contribute to the demand for commitment technology: the desire to signal to others. We present a field experiment where participants could choose to give up money if they did not follow through with an action. If their commitment choice was made public rather than kept private, we find significantly higher uptake rates.
Paper Information
- Full Working Paper Text
- Working Paper Publication Date: November 2015
- HBS Working Paper Number: 16-064
- Faculty Unit(s): Negotiation, Organizations & Markets