Does cronyism pay? Costly ingroup favoritism in the lab
通过实验室信任博弈实验，研究了企业人事决策中因内群体偏袒导致的裙带关系，发现利他主义和互惠动机共同驱动这一行为，且对实施者有利可图。
Abstract Cronyism in firms arises when favoritism toward an ingroup affects personnel decisions. Two main motives underlie cronyism: profit, if an ingroup employee works harder; or altruism, if used to transfer resources. In a lab‐experiment trust game with naturally‐occurring groups, an employer (proposer) faces an employee (responder) who is or is not an ingroup member. We see that both motives play a role. Cronyism is more likely from employers who are more altruistic to the ingroup in a dictator game; and even low‐productivity (by design) ingroup members reciprocate trust generously. Cronyism pays for those who engage in it.