Fool Me Once: An Experiment on Credibility and Leadership
通过实验室联合投资实验，研究领导者如何通过放弃短期利益来建立和维持社会可信度，从而让追随者更愿意听从其建议。
Abstract We investigate ‘social credibility’, a leader’s ability to convince followers that conditions are favourable and that others will follow the leader's advice. To do so, we study an experimental joint venture with three key properties: returns are uncertain, investments are complements, and investment is often more beneficial for the leader than the followers. The leader has private information about investment returns and can facilitate coordination through cheap-talk recommendations. We find that leaders manage social credibility by forgoing potentially profitable advice to invest, increasing the likelihood that subsequent recommendations are followed. We identify factors that affect the persistence of social credibility.