Deferred Bill Splitting Leads to Deference

Abstract: In joint consumption experiences, individuals often split their bill later rather than immediately (i.e., one person pays to the establishment and collects reimbursement afterwards). Although this behaviour is prevalent, little research has investigated how it affects social relationships. Across a series of experiments, we demonstrate that relative to the primary payer (i.e., the person who pays to the establishment), the reimburser (i.e., the person who pays back the primary payer) is more likely to exhibit deferential behaviour when they have not paid back their bill. This effect generalizes across financial, social, and temporal domains, and interferes with people’s social relationships. We also show that this effect is driven by the reimburser’s desire to portray themselves positively and increased feelings of social dependence. By revealing a novel situational antecedent of deference and highlighting the underlying mechanisms, this research contributes to our understanding of how financial decisions impact relationships in the workplace.

Keywords: deference, impression management, social dependence, experimental work