Social loafing is the decline in member effort that often occurs in groups. This paper discusses factors that may contribute to social loafing, and proposes a model integrating these factors. The model attempts to move social loafing research from the laboratory to the workplace. Recommendations are offered for reducing social loafing in work groups.
ADAMS, J. S.Inequity in social exchange. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 2). New York: Academic Press, 1965, pp. 267-299.
2.
ALBANESE, R., & VAN FLEET, D. D.Rational behavior in groups: The free-riding tendency. Academy of Management Review, 1985, 10, 244-255.
3.
ALDERFER, C. P.Group and intergroup relations. In J. R. Hackman and J. L. Suttle (Eds.), Improving life at work. Santa Monica: Goodyear Publishing, 1977, pp. 227-296.
4.
BANDURA, A.Self-efficacy mechanisms in human agency. American Psychologist, 1982, 37, 122-147.
5.
BRICKNER, M. A., HARKINS, S. G., & OSTROM, T. M.Effects of personal involvement: Thought-provoking implications for social loafing. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1986, 51, 763-769.
6.
COLMAN, A. D., & BEXTON, W. H.Group relations reader. Sausalito, CA: GREX, 1975.
7.
COMER, D. R. Factors that affect individual effort toward a group task. New Haven: Yale University, 1984. Unpublished manuscript.
8.
EARLEY, P. C.Social loafing and collectivism: A comparison of the United States and the People's Republic of China. Administrative Science Quarterly, 1989, 334, 565-581.
9.
EARLEY, P. C.East meets West meets Mideast: Further explorations of collectivist and individualistic work groups. Academy of Management Journal, 1993, 36(2), 319-348.
10.
EREZ, M., & EARLEY, P. C.Comparative analysis of goal-setting strategies across cultures. Joumal of Applied Psychology, 1987, 72, 658-665.
11.
FINHOLT, T., & SPROULL, L. S.Electronic groups at work. Organization Science, 1990, 1, 41-64.
12.
GALBRAITH, J. R., & KAZANJIAN, R. K.Strategy, technology, and emerging organizational forms. In J. Hage (Ed.), Futures of organizations: Innovating to adapt strategy and human resources to rapid technological change. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books, 1988, pp. 29-41.
13.
GEORGE, J.Extrinsic and intrinsic origins of perceived social loafing in organizations. Academy of Management Journal, 1992, 35(1), 191-202.
14.
GERSICK, C. G. G., & HACKMAN, J. R.Habitual routines in task-performing groups. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 1990, 47, 65-97.
15.
GLADSTEIN, D.Groups in context: A model of task group effectiveness. Administrative Science Quarterly, 1984, 29(4), 499-517.
16.
GOETHALS, G. R., & DARLEY, J. M.Social comparison theory: Self-evaluation and group life. In B. Mullen and G. R. Goethals (Eds.), Theories of group behavior. NY: Springer-Verlag, 1987, pp. 22-47.
17.
GREENBAUM, H. H., KAPLAN, I. T., & METLAY, W.Evaluation of problem-solving groups: The case of quality circle programs. Group & Organization Studies, 1988, 13, 133-147.
18.
GREENBAUM, H. H., KAPLAN, I. T., & DAMIANO, R.Organizational group measurement instruments: An integrated survey. Management Communications Quarterly, 1991, 5(1), 126-148.
19.
HACKMAN, J. R.A set of methods for research on work teams. Technical report No. 1. New Haven: Yale School of Organization and Management, 1982.
20.
HACKMAN, J. R.Doing research that makes a difference. In E. E. Lawler III, A. M. Mohrman Jr., S. A. Mohrman, G. E. Ledford Jr., T. G. Cummings, & Associates (Eds.), Doing research that is useful for theory and practice. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1984, pp. 126-148.
21.
HACKMAN, J. R.The design of work teams. In J. W. Lorsch (Ed.), Handbook of organizational behavior. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1987, pp. 315-342.
22.
HACKMAN, J. R. (Ed.). Groups that work (and those that don't). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1990.
23.
HARKINS, S. G.Social loafing and social facilitation. Journal of Experimental Social Psychol- ogy, 1987, 23, 1-18.
24.
HARKINS, S. G., & JACKSON, J. M.The role of evaluation in eliminating social loafing. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 1985, 11(4), 457-465.
25.
HARKINS, S., & PETTY, R.Effects of task difficulty and task uncertainty on social loafing. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1982, 43, 1214-1229.
26.
HARKINS, S., & SZYMANSKI, K.Social loafing and group evaluation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1989, 56(6), 9334-9941.
27.
HARKINS, S., LATANÉ, B., & WILLIAMS, K.Social loafing: Allocating effort or taking it easy?Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 1980, 10, 457-465.
28.
HUBER, G. P.The nature and design of post-industrial organizations. Management Science, 1984, 30, 928-951.
29.
INGHAM, A., & LEVINGER, G., GRAVES, J., & PECKHAM, V.The Ringelmann effect: Studies of group size and group performance. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 1974, 10, 371-384.
30.
JACKSON, J. M., & HARKINS, S. G.Equity in effort: An explanation of the social loafing effect. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1985,49(5), 1199-1206.
31.
JANIS, I.Victims of groupthink. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1972.
32.
JONES, G. R.Task visibility, free riding, and shirking: Explaining the effect of structure and technology on employee behavior. Academy of Management Review, 1984, 9, 684-695.
33.
KERR, N.Motivation losses in small groups: A social dilemma analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1983, 45(4), 819-828.
34.
KERR, N., & BRUUN, S.Ringelmann revisited: Alternative explanations for the social loafing effect. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 1981, 7, 224-231.
35.
KERR, N. L., & BRUUN, S. E.Dispensability of member effort and group motivation losses: Free-rider effects. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1983, 44, 78-94.
36.
LATANE, B., WILLIAMS, K., & HARKINS, S.Many hands make light the work: The causes and consequences of social loafing. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1979, 37, 822-832.
37.
LAWLER, E. E., III. High-involvement management. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1986.
38.
LEWIN, K.Field theory in social sciences. New York: Harper & Row, 1951.
39.
McGRATH, J. E.Groups: Interaction and performance. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1984.
40.
McGRATH, J. E.Studying groups at work: Ten critical needs for theory and practice. In P. S. Goodman and Associates (Eds.), Designing effective work groups. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1986, pp. 363-392.
41.
MESSICK, D. M., ALLISON, S. T., & SAMUELSON, C. D.Framing and communication effects on group members' responses to environmental and social uncertainty. In S. Maital (Ed.), Applied behavior economics (Vol. 2). Brighton, UK: Wheatsheaf Books, 1988.
42.
OLSON, M.The logic of collective action: Public goods and the theory of groups. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1965.
43.
ORBELL, J., & DAWES, R.Social dilemmas. In G. M. Stephenson and J. M. Dawes (Eds.), Progress in applied psychology (Vol. 1). Chichester, England: Wiley, 1981, pp. 37-64.
44.
PETTY, R. E., HARKINS, S. G., & WILLIAMS, K.The effects of group diffusion of cognitive effort on attitudes: An information-processing view. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1980, 38, 81-92.
45.
PRICE, K. H.Decision responsibility, task responsibility, identifiability, and social loafing. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 1987, 40, 330-345.
46.
PRICE, K H.Working hard to get people to loaf. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 1993, 14(3), 329-344.
47.
SCHLENKER, B. R., & WEIGOLD, M. F.Interpersonal processes involving impression regulation and management. Annual Review of Psychology, 1992, 43, 133-168.
48.
SCHNAKE, M. E.Equity in effort: The "sucker effect" in co-acting groups. Journal of Management, 1991, 17(1), 41-55.
49.
SELIGMAN, M.Helplessness: On depression, development, and death. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman, 1975.
50.
SHAW, M. E.Group dynamics: The psychology of small group behavior. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1981.
51.
SNIEZEK, J., MAY, D. R., & SAWYER, J. E.Social uncertainty and interdependence: A study of resource allocation decisions in groups. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 1990, 46, 155-180.
52.
STEINER, I. D.Group process and productivity. New York: Academic Press, 1972.
53.
STOHL, C., & SCHELL, S. E.A communication-based model of small-group dysfunction. Management Communication Quarterly, 1991, 5(1), 90-110.
54.
SZYMANSKI, K, & HARKINS, S. G.Social loafing and self-evaluation with a social standard. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1987, 53, 891-897.
55.
THOMPSON, J. D.Organizations in action. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1967.
56.
TINDALE, R. S., KULIK, C. T., & SCOTT, L. A.Individual and group feedback and performance: An attributional perspective. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 1991, 12(1), 41-62.
57.
TJOSVOLD, D.Constructive controversy: A key strategy for groups. Personnel, 1986, 39-44.
58.
TRIANDIS, H. C., BONTEMPO, R., VILLAREAL, M. J., ASAI, M., & LUCCA, N.Individualism and collectivism: Cross-cultural perspectives on self-ingroup relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1988, 54, 323-338.
59.
TUBBS, S. L.A systems approach to small group interaction (2nd ed.). New York: Random House, 1984.
60.
VEIGA, J. F.The frequency of self-limiting behavior in groups: A measure and an exploration. Human Relations, 1991, 44(8), 877-895.
61.
VROOM, V.Work and motivation. New York: Wiley, 1964.
62.
WAGNER, J. A., III, & MOCH, M. KIndividualism-collectivism: Concept and measure. Group and Organization Studies, 1986, 11, 280-304.
63.
WANOUS, J. P., & YOUTZ, M. A.Solution diversity and the quality of group decisions. Academy of Management Journal, 1986, 29, 149-159.
64.
WELDON, E., & GARGANO, G. M.Cognitive effort in additive task groups: The effects of shared responsibility on the quality of multiattribute judgments. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 1985, 36, 348-361.
65.
WELDON, E., & MUSTARI, E. L.Felt dispensability in groups of coactors: The effects of shared responsibility and explicit anonymity on cognitive effort. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 1988, 41, 330-351.
66.
WILLIAMS, K., HARKINS, S., & LATANE, B.Identifiability as a deterrent to social loafing: Two cheering experiments. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1981, 40, 303-311.
67.
WILLIAMS, K D., & KARAU, S. J.Social loafing and social compensation: The effects of expectations of co-worker performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1991, 61, 570-582.
68.
WILLIAMS, K D., NIDA, S. A., BACA, L. D., & LATANt, B.Social loafing and swimming: Effects of identifiability on individual and relay performance of intercollegiate swimmers. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 1989, 10(1), 73-81.
69.
YAMAGISHI, T.Exit from the group as an individualistic solution to the free rider problem in the United States and Japan. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 1988, 24, 530-542.
