Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • September 2011
  • Article
  • Management Science

The Labor Illusion: How Operational Transparency Increases Perceived Value

By: Ryan W. Buell and Michael I. Norton
  • Format:Print
  • | Pages:16
ShareBar

Abstract

A ubiquitous feature of even the fastest self-service technology transactions is the wait. Conventional wisdom and operations theory suggests that the longer people wait, the less satisfied they become; we demonstrate that due to what we term the labor illusion, when websites engage in operational transparency by signaling that they are exerting effort, people can actually prefer websites with longer waits to those that return instantaneous results—even when those results are identical. In five experiments that simulate service experiences in the domains of online travel and online dating, we demonstrate the impact of the labor illusion on service value perceptions, demonstrate that perceptions of service provider effort induce feelings of reciprocity that together mediate the link between operational transparency and increased valuation, and explore boundary conditions and alternative explanations.

Keywords

Internet and the Web; Perception; Valuation; Service Delivery; Consumer Behavior; Performance Effectiveness; Customer Satisfaction; Service Industry

Citation

Buell, Ryan W., and Michael I. Norton. "The Labor Illusion: How Operational Transparency Increases Perceived Value." Management Science 57, no. 9 (September 2011): 1564–1579.
  • Find it at Harvard
  • Read Now

About The Authors

Ryan W. Buell

Technology and Operations Management
→More Publications

Michael I. Norton

Negotiation, Organizations & Markets
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • March 2023
    • Faculty Research

    Laughter on Call: Injecting Conversational Levity

    By: Alison Wood Brooks, Michael I. Norton and F Katelynn Boland
    • 2022
    • Faculty Research

    Differentiating on Diversity: How Disclosing Workforce Diversity Improves Brand Attitudes

    By: Maya Balakrishnan, Jimin Nam and Ryan W. Buell
    • January 2023
    • Journal of the Association for Consumer Research

    Calculators for Women: When Identity-Based Appeals Backfire

    By: Tami Kim, Kate Barasz, Michael I. Norton and Leslie K. John
More from the Authors
  • Laughter on Call: Injecting Conversational Levity By: Alison Wood Brooks, Michael I. Norton and F Katelynn Boland
  • Differentiating on Diversity: How Disclosing Workforce Diversity Improves Brand Attitudes By: Maya Balakrishnan, Jimin Nam and Ryan W. Buell
  • Calculators for Women: When Identity-Based Appeals Backfire By: Tami Kim, Kate Barasz, Michael I. Norton and Leslie K. John
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College