Asymmetric Dishonesty in Markets: A Field Experiment on Male Sellers and Buyer Gender

ABSTRACT

Dishonest behavior is a pervasive phenomenon that imposes substantial economic and social costs on society. While the literature extensively documents gender differences in who lies, far less attention has been paid to whether sellers discriminate in their dishonesty based on the gender of the buyer. The present study addresses this gap using a field experiment conducted in the used car market. A gender‐balanced group of buyers conducted 360 paired phone calls in response to 180 used car advertisements. The buyers incorporated a subtle inaccuracy related to the advertised offer. Seller dishonesty was identified when sellers did not correct the inaccuracy. All sellers in the sample were male, reflecting the fact that men constitute the overwhelming majority of private sellers in this market. Results show that sellers exhibited dishonest behavior in 30% of all calls. Two competing accounts generate opposing predictions: a perceived‐vulnerability account, under which women are stereotyped as easier to mislead, predicts more dishonesty toward female buyers, whereas a moral‐protection account, under which the same harm is judged less severely when it befalls a man, predicts more dishonesty toward male buyers. Consistent with the latter, sellers were significantly more likely to be dishonest toward male than toward female buyers. However, among those sellers who did behave dishonestly, the degree of overstatement did not differ by buyer gender. The key predictors of seller dishonesty were seller price flexibility, buyer gender (male), lower vocal confidence of the buyer, and older car age. These findings contribute to the limited literature on dishonesty directed at specific demographic targets and underscore that, at least in price negotiations, male buyers are not shielded from exploitation.