Dr. Özgür Gürerk
Senior Research Associate
at the Seminar of Corporate Development and Business Ethics, University of Cologne
Research
In my research, I focus on how to enhance and sustain cooperation in social dilemmas. I also study cooperation in the context of leadership, and intergenerational cooperation in the context of climate change.
I also investigate the potential of virtual reality (VR) technology as an experimental tool. Unlike conventional labs, VR labs enable researchers to conduct experiments in naturalistic, context-rich settings, that participants perceive as real.
Teaching
At the University of Erfurt, recently I gave lectures in game theory, mathematics and microeconomics for social science students.
At the RWTH Aachen University, I regularly give a summer school course on lab and VR experiments for master and PhD students.
Publications
Bohné, T., Heine, I., Gürerk, Ö., Rieger, C., Kemmer, L., Cao, L.Y. (2021). Perception Engineering Learning with Virtual Reality, IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies, 14 (4).
Gürdal, M. Y. Gürerk, Ö., & Yahşi, M. (2021). Culture and Prevalence of Sanctioning Institutions, Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, 92.
Böhm, R.; Gürerk, Ö.; Lauer, T. (2020). Nudging Climate Change Mitigation: A Laboratory Experiment with Inter-Generational Public Goods. Games, 11, 42.
Gürerk, Ö., Bönsch, A., Kittsteiner, T, & Staffeldt, A. (2019). Virtual Humans as Co-Workers: A Novel Methodology to Study Peer Effects. Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, 78, 17-29.
Gürerk, Ö., Irlenbusch, B., & Rockenbach, B. (2018). Endogenously Emerging Gender Diversity in an Experimental Team Work Setting. Games, 9, 98.
Gürerk, Ö., Lauer, T., & Scheuermann, M. (2018). Leadership with Individual Rewards and Punishments. Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, 74, 57-69.
Bönsch, A., Wendt, J., Overath, H., Gürerk, Ö., Harbring, C., Grund, C., Kittsteiner, T., & Kuhlen, T. (2017) Peers at work: Economic real-effort experiments in the presence of virtual co-workers. Virtual Reality (VR), IEEE, 301-302.
Böhm, R., Rusch, H., & Gürerk, Ö. (2016). What makes people go to war? Defensive intentions motivate retaliatory and preemptive intergroup aggression. Evolution and Human Behavior, 37, 29–34.
Gürerk, Ö., Irlenbusch, B., & Rockenbach, B. (2014). On Cooperation in Open Communities. Journal of Public Economics, 120, 220-230.
Gürerk, Ö. (2013). Social learning increases the acceptance and the efficiency of punishment institutions in social dilemmas. Journal of Economic Psychology, 34, 229-239.
Gürerk, Ö., & Selten, R. (2012). The Effect of Payoff Tables on Experimental Oligopoly Behavior. Experimental Economics, 15, 499-509.
Gürerk, Ö., Irlenbusch, B., & Rockenbach, B. (2009). Motivating Teammates: The Leader’s Choice of Positive and Negative Incentives. Journal of Economic Psychology, 30, 591-607.
Gürerk, Ö., Irlenbusch, B., & Rockenbach, B. (2006). The Competitive Advantage of Sanctioning Institutions. Science, 312, 108-111.
Working Papers
Gürdal, M.Y., Gürerk, Ö., Kacamak, Y. & Kart, E. (2022). How to Increase and Sustain Cooperation in Public Goods Games: Conditional Commitments via a Mediator. https://ssrn.com/abstract=4340558. Submitted, status: Major Revision.
DeHoratius, N., Gürerk, Ö., Honhon, D., & Hyndman, K. (2020). Execution Failures in Retail Supply Chains - A Virtual Reality Experiment. Chicago Booth Research Paper No. 15-47. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2676628. Submitted, status: Major Revision.
Gürerk, Ö., & Kasulke, A. (2018/21). Does Virtual Reality Increase Charitable Giving? An Experimental Study. Paper available upon request.
Leder, J., Lauer, T., Schütz A., & Gürerk, Ö. (2021). Background Uncertainty Can Increase Risk Aversion in Decision Making. Preprint available at PsyArXiv: https://psyarxiv.com/6s4vf/
Kunter, M, & Gürerk, Ö. (2018). The Helpfulness of External Reference Prices and How They Affect Customers’ Pay-What-You-Want Payments for Services. Paper available upon request.
Gürerk, Ö. Bohné T., & Alvarez Alonso, G. (2019). Productivity and learning effects of head-mounted AR displays on human-centered work. Available at SSRN: https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3264118
Gürerk, Ö., Lauer, T., & Scheuermann, M. (2019). Leader Legitimacy and Team Performance. Paper available upon request.
Gürerk, Ö, Bönsch, A., Harbring, C., Grund, C., Kittsteiner, T., & Staffeldt, A. (2016). Experimental Economics in Virtual Reality. Available at Munich Personal RePEc Archive: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/71409/
Work in Progress
How Leaders Reduce Cheating in Self-Reports & Increase Team Performance, with Thomas Lauer and Mark Pigors
A Trust Game in Virtual Reality, with Lucas Braun and Christine Harbring