Identity, Leadership, and Cooperation: An experimental analysis

Abstract

Effective leaders promote cooperation among their followers. Although many studies have focused on approaches to effective leadership, few have studied how social identity—both the leader’s and the group’s—impacts a leader’s effectiveness. We use a theoretical framework and a novel laboratory experimental design to report data from leader-follower games. In the game, the leader may or may not share a social identity with the rest of the group. Our main finding is that ingroup leaders are more effective than outgroup leaders. In particular, ingroup leaders are more likely to suggest greater cooperation among followers, and their suggestions are more likely to be followed. Furthermore, we find that outgroup leaders are more likely to deviate from their cooperation signals. These findings provide evidence of an important challenge to achieving the well-documented organizational benefits that stem from a diverse and inclusive workplace.

Keywords: C71, C92, D91

JEL Classification: Leadership, Identity, Communication, Cooperation, Laboratory experiment