Georg Granic, Assistant Professor in the department of Applied Economics at Erasmus School of Economics, published an article with co-author Alexander Wagner (Vienna Center for Experimental Economics and University of Vienna), that is now published in Leadership Quarterly. The article about fairer procedures in committees was also featured in the Sydney Morning Herland and received the Diligentia Prize for Empirical Research.
In the paper, Granic and Wagner study how the decision right to break ties (formal power) translates into effective control over outcomes (real power). Two controlled experiments show that the level of real power held by the chair is larger than predicted by rational-choice theory. The researchers also provide causal evidence that the legitimacy, but not the salience, of holding formal tie-breaking power affects voting behaviour and thus the distribution of real power in the committee. Attitudinal measures related to the perceived attractiveness of the decision right to break ties exhibit a strong asymmetry between the one holding the decision right and those who do not.
The paper has received the Diligentia Prize for Empirical research of 25,000 euros to conduct follow-up studies. The Diligentia Foundation for Empirical Research was founded in 2015 to promote the social sciences, in particular economics and related disciplines. In continuation of, and in accordance with, its founder’s intention, the foundation promotes empirical research on various issues. Since 2019, the foundation awards the Diligentia Prize for Empirical Research.