When Labor Leads to Love
The “IKEA Effect”: When Labor Leads to Love
Michael I. Norton Daniel Mochon Dan Ariely
Working Paper
11-091
Copyright © 2011 by Michael I. Norton, Daniel Mochon, and Dan Ariely Working papers are in draft form. This working paper is distributed for purposes of comment and discussion only. It may not be reproduced without permission of the copyright holder. Copies of working papers are available from the author.
IKEA Effect - 1 -
The “IKEA Effect”: When Labor Leads to Love MICHAEL I. NORTON DANIEL MOCHON DAN ARIELY*
*Michael I. Norton (mnorton@hbs.edu) is an Associate Professor of Business Administration in the Marketing Unit at the Harvard Business School, Soldiers Field Road, Boston, MA, 02163. Daniel Mochon (dmochon@ucsd.edu) is a Post-Doctoral Fellow in Marketing at the Rady School of Management, University of California, San Diego, Otterson Hall, 9500 Gilman Drive, MC 0553, La Jolla, CA, 92093. Dan Ariely (dandan@duke.edu) is the James B. Duke Professor of Behavioral Economics at Duke University, 1 Towerview Drive, Durham, NC, 27708. We thank Mika Chance, Christina Huang, Amy Shelton, Lisa Shu, Carrie Sun, Stephanie Wu, and TianLun Yu for their assistance running the experiments and Lalin Anik, Ryan Buell, Zoe Chance, John Gourville, Anat Keinan, Mary Carol Mazza, and Lisa Shu for their comments.
IKEA Effect - 2 Abstract In a series of studies in which consumers assembled IKEA boxes, folded origami, and built sets of Legos, we demonstrate and investigate the boundary conditions for what we term the “IKEA effect” – the increase in valuation of self-made products. Participants saw their amateurish creations – of both utilitarian and hedonic products – as similar in value to the creations of experts, and expected others to share their opinions. Our account suggests that labor leads to increased valuation only when labor results in successful completion of tasks; thus when participants built and then destroyed their creations, or failed to
Michael I. Norton Daniel Mochon Dan Ariely
Working Paper
11-091
Copyright © 2011 by Michael I. Norton, Daniel Mochon, and Dan Ariely Working papers are in draft form. This working paper is distributed for purposes of comment and discussion only. It may not be reproduced without permission of the copyright holder. Copies of working papers are available from the author.
IKEA Effect - 1 -
The “IKEA Effect”: When Labor Leads to Love MICHAEL I. NORTON DANIEL MOCHON DAN ARIELY*
*Michael I. Norton (mnorton@hbs.edu) is an Associate Professor of Business Administration in the Marketing Unit at the Harvard Business School, Soldiers Field Road, Boston, MA, 02163. Daniel Mochon (dmochon@ucsd.edu) is a Post-Doctoral Fellow in Marketing at the Rady School of Management, University of California, San Diego, Otterson Hall, 9500 Gilman Drive, MC 0553, La Jolla, CA, 92093. Dan Ariely (dandan@duke.edu) is the James B. Duke Professor of Behavioral Economics at Duke University, 1 Towerview Drive, Durham, NC, 27708. We thank Mika Chance, Christina Huang, Amy Shelton, Lisa Shu, Carrie Sun, Stephanie Wu, and TianLun Yu for their assistance running the experiments and Lalin Anik, Ryan Buell, Zoe Chance, John Gourville, Anat Keinan, Mary Carol Mazza, and Lisa Shu for their comments.
IKEA Effect - 2 Abstract In a series of studies in which consumers assembled IKEA boxes, folded origami, and built sets of Legos, we demonstrate and investigate the boundary conditions for what we term the “IKEA effect” – the increase in valuation of self-made products. Participants saw their amateurish creations – of both utilitarian and hedonic products – as similar in value to the creations of experts, and expected others to share their opinions. Our account suggests that labor leads to increased valuation only when labor results in successful completion of tasks; thus when participants built and then destroyed their creations, or failed to
References: Turner, Arthur N. and Paul R. Lawrence (1965), Industrial Jobs and the Worker, Boston: Harvard University.