Feedback in Tournaments under Commitment Problems: Experimental Evidence

B-Tier
Journal: Journal of Economics & Management Strategy
Year: 2010
Volume: 19
Issue: 3
Pages: 771-810

Authors (2)

Oliver Gürtler (Universität zu Köln) Christine Harbring (not in RePEc)

Score contribution per author:

1.005 = (α=2.01 / 2 authors) × 1.0x B-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

We theoretically as well as experimentally analyze tournaments in which one of the agents leads over the other before entering the tournament, that is, in which one of the competitors benefits from a head start. The principal may decide upon informing the agents about the degree of this asymmetry. She cannot commit to giving feedback ex ante or not and, thus, chooses the strategy that is optimal for her ex post. In equilibrium, the principal reveals information if the asymmetry is not too large. Our experimental findings qualitatively confirm our theoretical prediction. Moreover, behavior of the principal and the agents is well aligned to each other.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:bla:jemstr:v:19:y:2010:i:3:p:771-810
Journal Field
Industrial Organization
Author Count
2
Added to Database
2026-01-25