Peer Reporting and the Perception of Fairness

Abstract

Economic motives are not the only reasons for committing a (small) crime. People consider social norms and perceptions of fairness before judging a situation and acting upon it. If someone takes a bundle of printing paper from the office for private use at home, then a colleague who sees this can either report it or not: peer reporting. We investigate how fairness perception influences peer reporting in this situation of incorrect behavior.

Keywords: Peer reporting, Perception, Social norms, Fairness, Employee theft, Victimization

JEL Classification: C35, C36, D63, K42