Recontextualizing the Hawthorne effect

In this paper, we explore the thesis that a threat to the vital interests of an entity, be it a single individual or a group, will lead to productivity increases in a variety of forms. We argue that because threat was present in the Hawthorne experiments, the adoption of a decline perspective is relevant to a recontextualization of the Hawthorne effect. This means introducing aspects of an open systems approach into the analysis. A comparison between the Hawthorne effect and the Closedown and Horndal effects reveals certain analytical similarities. In view of this, and because the threat factor is present in the Hawthorne experiments, we recommend that threat be taken into account as one component of the Hawthorne effect.