Formal and Relational Incentives in a Multitask Model

Formal and Relational Incentives in a Multitask Model
Author: Kohei Daido
Publisher:
Total Pages: 26
Release: 2008
Genre:
ISBN:

This paper studies the optimal contracts in a multitask model when a principal-agent relationship is long-term. If some outcomes are unverifiable, then the contracts have to satisfy the self-enforcing condition. I characterize the optimal contract in terms of the discount rate, the cost substitutes, and the weight of the unverifiable outcomes relative to the principal's payoff. Then, as the discount rate increases, the incentive to verifiable outcome (formal incentive) changes discontinuously and non-monotonically while the incentive to the unverifiable outcome (relational incentive) changes discontinuously but monotonically.

Relational Contracts, Multitasking, and Job Design

Relational Contracts, Multitasking, and Job Design
Author: Anja Schöttner
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2010
Genre:
ISBN:

This article analyzes optimal job design in a repeated principal-agent relationship when there is only one contractible and imperfect performance measure for three tasks whose contribution to firm value is nonverifiable. The tasks can be assigned to either one or two agents. Assigning an additional task to an agent strengthens his relational contract. Therefore, broad task assignments are optimal when the performance measure strongly distorts incentives for the two-task job. This is more likely to be the case if these two tasks are substitutes.

Relational Contracts with Multitask Jobs

Relational Contracts with Multitask Jobs
Author: Bingyong Zheng
Publisher:
Total Pages: 35
Release: 2018
Genre:
ISBN:

This paper analyzes a multitask Principal-Agent model in which the performance measures of some tasks are subjective and relational contract is needed for incentive provision. We find that rewarding the Agent based on a subjective measure that aggregates performance on multiple tasks can help ease the tension between motivating the Agent by offering a bonus and the Principal's temptation to renege on bonus payment, which helps reduce the threshold discount factor for relational contract to be self-enforcing. Consequently, when some dimensions of performance can not be objectively determined, it may be optimal not to use explicit contracts for incentive provision even if other dimensions of performance can be objectively measured and there is no cost of writing explicit contracts. We therefore offer a novel explanation to "excessively incomplete contracts" observed in practice.

Teams in Relational Contracts

Teams in Relational Contracts
Author: Ola Kvaloy
Publisher:
Total Pages: 48
Release: 2016
Genre:
ISBN:

We analyze relational contracting between a principal and a team of agents where only aggregate output is observable. We deduce optimal team incentive contracts under different set of assumptions, and show that the principal can use team size and team composition as instruments in order to improve incentives. In particular, the principal can strengthen the agents' incentives by composing teams that utilize stochastic dependencies between the agents' outputs. We also show that more agents in the team may under certain conditions increase each team member's effort incentives, in particular if outputs are negatively correlated.

Team Incentives in Relational Employment Contracts

Team Incentives in Relational Employment Contracts
Author: Ola Kvaloy
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2005
Genre:
ISBN:

The paper analyzes conditions for implementing incentive schemes based on, respectively joint, relative and indendent performance, in a relational contract between a principal and a team of two agents. A main result is that the optimal incentive regime depends on the productivity of the agents, or more preciseley on the returns from high effort. This occurs because agents' productivites affect the principal's temptation to renege on the relational contract. The analysis suggests that we will see a higher frequency of relative performance evaluation (RPE) - and schemes that lie close to independent performance evaluation - as we move from low-productive to high-productive environments. In particular, it is shown that if effort-productivity is sufficently high, the optimal scheme for the principal is (for a range of discount factors) a collusion-proof RPE scheme, even if there is no common shock that affects the agents' output.

The Handbook of Organizational Economics

The Handbook of Organizational Economics
Author: Robert S. Gibbons
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 1248
Release: 2013
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0691132798

(E-book available via MyiLibrary) In even the most market-oriented economies, most economic transactions occur not in markets but inside managed organizations, particularly business firms. Organizational economics seeks to understand the nature and workings of such organizations and their impact on economic performance. The Handbook of Organizational Economics surveys the major theories, evidence, and methods used in the field. It displays the breadth of topics in organizational economics, including the roles of individuals and groups in organizations, organizational structures and processes, the boundaries of the firm, contracts between and within firms, and more.