Situated Experiments in Organizations: Transplanting the Lab to the Field

Abstract

Both laboratory and field experiments have limitations that likely account for the recent decline in their usage among organizational researchers. In this article, we introduce situated experiments as an experimental approach that optimizes the strengths of both laboratory and field experiments in organizational research while mitigating the weaknesses of each. We highlight four recently published studies using situated experiments. Drawing on these examples, we illustrate how the proper use of situated experiments can minimize threats to internal validity and ensure the ethical treatment of research participants.