Hips Don't Lie: Physician Incentive Contracting and Surgery Outcomes
This study examines the impact of volume-based incentive arrangements for hospital chief physicians on the quantity and quality of discretionary surgeries.
About me
I am a final-stage Ph.D. candidate in Accounting at the University of Mannheim and will be on the 2025/26 academic job market. In 2024, I was a visiting research scholar at the University of Miami. My research examines how incentive design and transparency rules shape decision-making inside organizations. I study these questions both within firms and in other institutional settings such as healthcare and policing. Using empirical-archival and survey-based methods, my goal is to generate evidence that informs policy and practice.
Interests
Incentive Design
Targeted Transparency
Real Effects
Reinforcement Learning
Education
Doctoral Studies in Accounting
University of MannheimVisiting Research Scholar
University of Miami, Florida, U.S.M.Sc. in Management
University of MannheimB.Sc. in Business Administration
University of MannheimExchange Semester
Bentley University, Massachusetts, U.S.
Featured Research
Invitation Messages for Business Surveys: A Multi-Armed Bandit Experiment
This study investigates how elements of a survey invitation message targeted to businesses influence their participation in a self-administered web survey.
Johannes Gaul
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1 min read
Police Officer Identification, Misconduct, and Public Trust
This study investigates the impact of a police oversight reform that introduced identification tags for police officers deployed at mass events.
Scholarly Publications
(2025).
Invitation Messages for Business Surveys: A Multi-Armed Bandit Experiment.
Survey Research Methods (forthcoming).
Working Papers
Work in Progress
Professional Publications
(2024).
Application of the ESRS by German Companies - Implementation Status and Challenges.
Betriebs-Berater, 79(23).
(2022).
Cost Structure and Business Flexibility During the COVID-19 Crisis.
Controlling & Management Review, 66(7).
(2022).
The Impact of War on Businesses: Energy Dependence and Price Increases.
Wirtschaftsdienst, 102(9).
(2021).
The Relevance of Cost Structure for the Effectiveness of Governmental Aid Programs.
Wirtschaftsdienst, 101(7).
Teaching
Teaching Experience
Courses in Financial Accounting and Controlling at Bachelor, Master, and Executive levels.
Ressources
Multi-Armed Bandit Optimization
Want to run more efficient experiments? See how to implement adaptive randomization in sequential experimental setups.