This paper analyzes the role of the agent's bankruptcy constraints in multiperiod principal-agent models with asymmetric information. Conditions are provided under which commitment to a long-term contract involving N rounds of investment improves upon repetition of N identical single-period...

This paper presents a principal-agent model in which subsequent to contracting the risk averse agent becomes informed about the production process. Communication of the agent's information is always valuable. The optimal contract given this information asymmetry is characterized by less...

In this article, we explore the connection between information system design and incentives for project search. The choice of an information system affects the level of managerial slack that is generated during project implementation. Whether slack is beneficial or costly to an organization has...

There are many circumstances in which manufacturers provide inputs to wholesale customers only to subsequently compete with these wholesale customers in the retail realm. Such dual distribution arrangements commonly suffer from excessive encroachment in that the manufacturer's ex post retail...

In this paper, we study an incentive problem that arises between a principal and two agents because they value a real option differently. The real option in our model is a timing option. The agents have limited capacity to undertake projects, and each agent's capacity can be filled now or later....

This paper considers the desirability of aggregate performance measures in light of the fact that many individuals' performance incentives are driven by a desire to shape external perceptions (and thus future pay). In contrast to the case of explicit incentive contracts, we find that when...

The seminal "unraveling" result in the disclosure literature posits that discretion inevitably leads to full disclosure, even when such disclosure has detrimental consequences. In this paper, we revisit optimal disclosure of proprietary information when firms compete in multiple markets. The...

Aggregation is a pervasive theme in accounting. The preparation of financial statements involves extensive aggregation---information regarding several transactions is summarized using a few account balances. In this article, we study linear, double-entry aggregation rules. The level of...

This paper shows that rotation programs can be an effective response to concerns of employee budget padding. Rotation programs naturally create a "portfolio" of assignments for each manager, and the resulting diversification can reduce the downside of resource rationing. In particular, the...

A criticism of mechanism design theory is that the optimal mechanism designed for one environment can produce drastically different actions, outcomes, and payoffs in a second, even slightly different, environment. In this sense, the theoretically optimal mechanisms usually studied are not...