Though sunk costs impact future income calculations (via depreciation for example), accountants are reminded that their sunk nature makes them irrelevant for future decisions. An explanation for why firms routinely incur such costs is that technology considerations make them inescapable. This...

A prevailing view in the disclosure literature is that firms who learn favorable market information are reluctant to disclose it, fearing it will attract new rivals. In this paper, we demonstrate that the presence of dual distribution arrangements, wherein consumers can purchase products either...

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...

Firms routinely decide whether to make essential inputs themselves or buy the inputs from independent suppliers. Conventional wisdom suggests that a firm will not buy an input for a price above its in-house cost of production. We show that this is not necessarily the case when a monopolistic...

The common wisdom is that a retailer suffers when its wholesale supplier encroaches on the retailer's operations by selling directly to final consumers. We demonstrate that the retailer can benefit from encroachment even when encroachment admits no synergies and does not facilitate product...

Minimizing strife through vertical integration is commonly seen as the “holy grail” for long-term success in product distribution. In this paper, we take a different slant, showing that sometimes a separated channel that embodies a degree of discord can be helpful, particularly when a...

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 pay). In contrast to the case of explicit contracts, we find that when individuals' actions...