Money and acclaim convert tipsters into obligated insider providers

Evidence

Anil Kumar, a senior executive at a global consulting firm with access to corporate secrets, described his sense of obligation to provide inner corporate secrets when pressed for details, “I felt that I owed him something, given how much money he was paying me” (Lattman & Ahmed, 2011). Generous acclaim for profitable tips served as another influential incentive. When a tip about a secret forthcoming merger produced a large trading profit, Kumar was praised profusely: “That was fantastic. ‘We’re all cheering you at the office right now. You’re a star. You’re a hero.’” — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 1463

Categorization

• XREF: The paid-obligation dynamic mirrors the sense of indebtedness described in the Milgrom law merchant material on reputation and reciprocity obligations.