Traditional standard cost variance analysis procedures are examined as motivational devices in a principal-agent model. The reexpressing of a cost realization into components (such as individual factor price and quantity variances) is shown to be useful if an incentive problem exists and if the...

This paper presents estimates of cash flows associated with a given warranty policy. Included in the results are prediction intervals for warranty reserves and cash flows. A numerical example is given to illustrate these results.

This paper extends the deterministic EOQ model to reflect various optimizing criteria and alternative demand and price structures. Its primary purpose is to develop decision rules for the management of finished goods inventories, especially in retailing, where inventories are evaluated in the...

This paper extends the previous research on conditional monitoring by allowing the principal to choose the level of monitoring investment and by finding the properties of an interior optimal monitoring policy which is not of a bang-bang nature. We show that, under a concave monitoring...

Information for management decisions is typically presented in both numeric and nonnumeric forms. This paper tests whether the choice of presentation form affects the use of such information by decision makers. Selected information from corporate annual reports was provided to a group of...