Our study, like the Evans et al. 2001 study, uses a contextually rich budgeting setting,
rather than an abstract economic game. A distinct advantage of this choice is that it reduces the potential that participants will view the experiment as a game in which
opportunism is encouraged (Haynes and Kacbelmeier 1998). Manager-participants
in the Evans et al. study submitted budgets to hypothetical owners. However, in
order to have an intrinsic benefit to appearing honest (that is, social approval),
managers in our study submitted budgets to owner-panicipants, whose experimental
pay was determined by the budgets. Because the owners were required to accept
all budgets, tbe owner's only task was to receive the budget from the manager.