Mind-Reading Ability Predicts Sales Performance: Evidence from Financial Consultants

18 Pages Posted: 12 Sep 2022

See all articles by Josie I Chen

Josie I Chen

National Taiwan University

Tai-Sen He

Nanyang Technological University

Abstract

We developed a task to measure how well people read others’ minds in the ultimatum game, performed an artefactual field experiment on 98 financial consultants from a Taiwanese commercial bank, and linked the mind-reading ability measure to administrative data on consultants’ sales performance in the past year. Our results revealed a strong association between the mind-reading ability measure and financial consultants’ sales performance. This association remained after controlling for a rich set of individual characteristics.  Our study provides a novel, objective, and quantifiable way to measure an essential social cognition skill that prevails in nearly all economically strategic situations.

Keywords: mind-reading, sales performance, ultimatum game, artefactual field experiment

Suggested Citation

Chen, Josie I and He, Tai-Sen, Mind-Reading Ability Predicts Sales Performance: Evidence from Financial Consultants. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4216573 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4216573

Josie I Chen

National Taiwan University ( email )

1 Sec. 4, Roosevelt Road
Taipei 106, 106
Taiwan

Tai-Sen He (Contact Author)

Nanyang Technological University ( email )

SHHK 04-40
48 Nanyang Ave
Singapore, 639818
Singapore

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