Spite and preemptive retaliation after tournaments

• Published in: Journal of economic behavior & organization Vol. 158; pp. 328 - 336
• Main Authors: Jauernig, Johanna, Uhl, Matthias
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.02.2019
• Subjects: Competition; Money burning; Preemptive retaliation; Self-binding; Spite; Tournaments; Competition; Preemptive retaliation; Self-binding; Tournaments; C91; Spite; C90; Money burning; C72
• ISSN: 0167-2681; 1879-1751
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2018.12.001

•We experimentally analyze antisocial behavior after tournaments.•We demonstrate that the perception of a situation as competitive drives money burning in a subsequent stage.•We disentangle the motives of preemptive retaliation and spite by a self-binding device.•Contrary to previous studies, we find clear evidence for both motives. We investigated money burning after tournaments. First, we show that substantial money burning was triggered if participants perceived a situation as competitive. Second, we investigated to which extent aggression between former contestants was motivated by preemptive retaliation or spite. To disentangle both motives, we introduced a credible and visible self-binding signal. Contrary to previous studies, we found that aggression against a defenceless subject played an important role. Preemptive retaliation proved to be another dominant motive. We conclude that voluntary self-binding signals may have the potential to mitigate but not eliminate antisocial behavior after a competition, because it seems to be driven by spite to a large extent. Our results help us to better understand and eventually mitigate destructive behavior in work environments.