Coase [1937] first explained the existence of firms and the boundaries between them as an emergent solution to minimizing the costs of accessing markets – what Williamson [1975] later termed 'transaction costs.' Over time, innovations in management control and changes to legal structures have...

Using an unusually comprehensive database on 858 transactions for information technology products and accompanying services, we study how close partners who are exposed to opportunistic hazards structure and control a significant transaction. We analyze data on the terms of contracting to...

Prior research documents performance improvements following the implementation of pay-for-performance (PFP) bonus plans. However, bonus plans typically pay for performance relative to a goal, and the manager whose performance is to be evaluated often participates in setting the goal. In these...