We consider a single-principal/multi-agent model to investigate the principal's preferences over delegated contracting. The analysis extends the single-agent/multi-task LEN model in Feltham and Xie (1994) to a multi-agent/multi-task context. We consider full-commitment contracts, i.e., the...

China's stock market has gone through major structural changes since its inception in early 1990s. In this survey article, we review the empirical literature that document these important structural changes and published in 15 leading accounting and finance journals from 1998 to 2013. In...

This paper argues that accrual-based financial accounting, including the conservative recognition of anticipated cash flows, mimics the properties of an optimal multi-period incentive contract between a firm and a manager. I study a two-period principal-agent model in which a manager can be...

Although neoclassical economic theory predicts that fixed cost magnitude and fixed cost reporting format will not influence short-term pricing decisions, these factors systematically affected pricing decisions in a duopoly experiment. Increasing fixed cost magnitude (a pure sunk cost in this...

Although neoclassical economic theory predicts that fixed cost magnitude and fixed cost reporting format will not influence short-term pricing decisions, these factors systematically affected pricing decisions in a duopoly experiment. Increasing fixed cost magnitude (a pure sunk cost in this...

Negotiations between buyers and suppliers that require sharing cost details to identify profitable relationship specific investments often fail and result in hold-ups. Based on inequity aversion, strategic uncertainty, and risk dominance criteria, we expect negotiators to be more reluctant to...

The discussion on value-based performance measures is centered around the concept of residual income. The main property of residual income is its connection to capital budgeting and the net-present-value-rule. This property is, however, not sufficient to guarantee strong goal congruence between...

We experimentally examine how employees' employment horizons (long or short) and the performance measures in their incentive contracts (forward-looking or contemporaneous) affect employee effort allocation and performance. Consistent with economic theory, we find that the decision-influencing...

Value based performance measures are intended to capture increases in shareholder wealth. At the same time they have to measure the realization of the returns initially planned for. To provide incentives for management to act in the interest of owners, bonus payments are often based on these...

Accounting performance measures such as earnings and cash flows are useful for both valuation and performance evaluation purposes. However, little evidence exists on whether there is any association between these two roles. In this study, we provide large sample empirical evidence that the...