We study, experimentally, how two alternative incentive mechanisms affect team performance, and how a team chooses … between alternative mechanisms. We study a group incentive mechanism, where team output is shared equally among team members …, and a hierarchical mechanism team output is allocated by a team leader. Our experiment examines these mechanisms in both …

chosen team composition. Experimental data supports the direction of the main predictions, though it shows how and why … participants deviate from expected behavior. In particular, it shows that managers selecting a team composition closer to the … optimal predictions delegate better and have higher payoffs. Deviations from the optimal team composition are consistent with …

and a team-based payment scheme. We find that women are more likely than men to select team-based compensation in our … baseline treatment, but women and men join teams with equal frequency when we add an efficiency advantage to team production … observed patterns in the team-entry gender gap: (1) a gender gap in confidence in others (i.e. women are less pessimistic about …