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Communication and commitment in contests

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  • Fu, Qiang
  • Gürtler, Oliver
  • Münster, Johannes

Abstract

Players often engage in high-profile public communications to demonstrate their confidence in winning before they carry out actual competitive activities. We investigate players’ incentives to engage in such pre-contest communication. Our key assumption is that a player suffers a cost when he sends a “message of confidence” but later loses the contest. Sending a message thus increases one's incentive to win. For the favorite, this has the beneficial strategic effect of decreasing the underdog's equilibrium effort. In a standard Tullock contest model, however, with no costs of entry and complete information, this strategic advantage is not strong enough to outweigh the cost of sending the message. Therefore, communication can only be beneficial if it deters the rival's entry into the contest, and under asymmetric information.

Suggested Citation

  • Fu, Qiang & Gürtler, Oliver & Münster, Johannes, 2013. "Communication and commitment in contests," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 1-19.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:95:y:2013:i:c:p:1-19
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2013.08.011
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    Cited by:

    1. Kai A. Konrad & Florian Morath, 2020. "Escalation in conflict games: on beliefs and selection," Experimental Economics, Springer;Economic Science Association, vol. 23(3), pages 750-787, September.
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    3. Robertson, Matthew J., 2018. "Contests with Ex-Ante Target Setting," CRETA Online Discussion Paper Series 47, Centre for Research in Economic Theory and its Applications CRETA.
    4. Kai A. Konrad & Florian Morath, 2017. "Escalation in Dynamic Conflict: On Beliefs and Selection," Working Papers tax-mpg-rps-2017-05, Max Planck Institute for Tax Law and Public Finance.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Competition; Signaling; Communication; Entry deterrence;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C72 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - Noncooperative Games
    • D61 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Allocative Efficiency; Cost-Benefit Analysis
    • D82 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Asymmetric and Private Information; Mechanism Design
    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives

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