IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/inm/ormnsc/v56y2010i7p1161-1179.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Why Are Bad Products So Hard to Kill?

Author

Listed:
  • Duncan Simester

    (Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142)

  • Juanjuan Zhang

    (Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142)

Abstract

It is puzzling that firms often continue to invest in product development projects when they should know that demand will be low. We argue that bad products are hard to kill because firms face an inherent conflict when designing managers' incentives. Rewarding success encourages managers to forge ahead even when demand is low. To avoid investing in low-demand products, the firm must also reward decisions to kill products. However, rewarding managers for killing products effectively undermines the rewards for success. The inability to resolve this tension forces the firm to choose between paying an even larger bonus for success and accepting continued investment in low-demand products. We explore the boundaries of this argument by analyzing how the timing of demand information affects product investment decisions.

Suggested Citation

  • Duncan Simester & Juanjuan Zhang, 2010. "Why Are Bad Products So Hard to Kill?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 56(7), pages 1161-1179, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:ormnsc:v:56:y:2010:i:7:p:1161-1179
    DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.1100.1169
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.1100.1169
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1287/mnsc.1100.1169?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Im, Subin & Nakata, Cheryl, 2008. "Crafting an environment to foster integration in new product teams," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 25(3), pages 164-172.
    2. Kim C. Border & Joel Sobel, 1987. "Samurai Accountant: A Theory of Auditing and Plunder," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 54(4), pages 525-540.
    3. Shin, Dongsoo, 2008. "Information acquisition and optimal project management," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 26(4), pages 1032-1043, July.
    4. Richard A. Lambert, 1986. "Executive Effort and Selection of Risky Projects," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 17(1), pages 77-88, Spring.
    5. Preyas S. Desai & Kannan Srinivasan, 1995. "Demand Signalling Under Unobservable Effort in Franchising: Linear and Nonlinear Price Contracts," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 41(10), pages 1608-1623, October.
    6. John R. Hauser & Duncan I. Simester & Birger Wernerfelt, 1997. "Side Payments in Marketing," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 16(3), pages 246-255.
      • Hauser, John R. & Simester, Duncan I. & Wernerfelt, Birger., 1997. "Side payments in marketing," Working papers 161-97. Working paper (Sl, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Sloan School of Management.
    7. Bernardo, Antonio E. & Cai, Hongbin & Luo, Jiang, 2001. "Capital budgeting and compensation with asymmetric information and moral hazard," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(3), pages 311-344, September.
    8. John R. Hauser, 1998. "Research, Development, and Engineering Metrics," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 44(12-Part-1), pages 1670-1689, December.
    9. Holmstrom, Bengt & Milgrom, Paul, 1987. "Aggregation and Linearity in the Provision of Intertemporal Incentives," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 55(2), pages 303-328, March.
    10. Ilan Guedj & David Scharfstein, 2004. "Organizational Scope and Investment: Evidence from the Drug Development Strategies and Performance of Biopharmaceutical Firms," NBER Working Papers 10933, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Townsend, Robert M., 1979. "Optimal contracts and competitive markets with costly state verification," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 21(2), pages 265-293, October.
    12. Maria De Paola & Vincenzo Scoppa, 2006. "Organizational Design, Project Selection, and Incentives," Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics (JITE), Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 162(3), pages 424-449, September.
    13. Guido Friebel & Michael Raith, 2010. "Resource Allocation and Organizational Form," American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 2(2), pages 1-33, May.
    14. Laux, Volker, 2008. "On the value of influence activities for capital budgeting," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 65(3-4), pages 625-635, March.
    15. William Boulding & Ajay Kalra & Richard Staelin, 1999. "The Quality Double Whammy," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 18(4), pages 463-484.
    16. James G. March & Zur Shapira, 1987. "Managerial Perspectives on Risk and Risk Taking," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 33(11), pages 1404-1418, November.
    17. Liang Guo, 2009. "The Benefits of Downstream Information Acquisition," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 28(3), pages 457-471, 05-06.
    18. Bergmann, Rouven & Friedl, Gunther, 2008. "Controlling innovative projects with moral hazard and asymmetric information," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(9), pages 1504-1514, October.
    19. Jaeyoung Sung, 1995. "Linearity with Project Selection and Controllable Diffusion Rate in Continuous-Time Principal-Agent Problems," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 26(4), pages 720-743, Winter.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Yan Dong & Kefeng Xu & Tony Haitao Cui & Yuliang Yao, 2015. "Service Failure Recovery and Prevention: Managing Stockouts in Distribution Channels," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 34(5), pages 689-701, September.
    2. Dmitri Kuksov & J. Miguel Villas-Boas, 2019. "The Performance Measurement Trap," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 38(1), pages 68-87, January.
    3. Ronald Klingebiel & Peter Esser, 2020. "Stage-Gate Escalation," Strategy Science, INFORMS, vol. 5(4), pages 311-329, December.
    4. Duncan Simester & Juanjuan Zhang, 2014. "Why Do Salespeople Spend So Much Time Lobbying for Low Prices?," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 33(6), pages 796-808, November.
    5. Patricio Duran & Nadine Kammerlander & Marc van Essen & Thomas Zellweger, 2016. "Doing More with Less : Innovation Input and Output in Family Firms," Post-Print hal-02276703, HAL.
    6. Daspit, Joshua J. & Long, Rebecca G. & Pearson, Allison W., 2019. "How familiness affects innovation outcomes via absorptive capacity: A dynamic capability perspective of the family firm," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 10(2), pages 133-143.
    7. Li, Yanran & Li, Bo & Wang, Minxue & Liu, Yang, 2023. "Optimal sales strategies for an omni-channel manufacturer in livestreaming demonstration trends," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    8. Shivam Gupta & Anupam Agrawal & Jennifer K. Ryan, 2023. "Agile contracting: Managing incentives under uncertain needs," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 32(3), pages 972-988, March.
    9. Liang Guo & Juanjuan Zhang, 2012. "Consumer Deliberation and Product Line Design," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 31(6), pages 995-1007, November.
    10. Anja Schöttner, 2017. "Optimal Sales Force Compensation in Dynamic Settings: Commissions vs. Bonuses," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 63(5), pages 1529-1544, May.
    11. Yan Dong & Yuliang Yao & Tony Haitao Cui, 2011. "When Acquisition Spoils Retention: Direct Selling vs. Delegation Under CRM," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 57(7), pages 1288-1299, July.
    12. Kräkel, Matthias & Schöttner, Anja, 2016. "Optimal sales force compensation," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 126(PA), pages 179-195.
    13. Tinglong Dai & Kinshuk Jerath, 2013. "Salesforce Compensation with Inventory Considerations," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 59(11), pages 2490-2501, November.
    14. Katolnik, Svetlana & Schöndube, Jens Robert, 2015. "Don't Kill the Goose that Lays the Golden Eggs: Strategic Delay in Project Completion," VfS Annual Conference 2015 (Muenster): Economic Development - Theory and Policy 113046, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    15. Katolnik, Svetlana & Schöndube, Jens Robert, 2014. "Don't Kill the Goose that Lays the Golden Eggs: Strategic Delay in Project Completion," Hannover Economic Papers (HEP) dp-533, Leibniz Universität Hannover, Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Fakultät.
    16. Juanjuan Zhang, 2016. "Deadlines in Product Development," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 62(11), pages 3310-3326, November.
    17. Matthias Kräkel & Anja Schöttner, 2020. "Delegating Pricing Authority to Sales Agents: The Impact of Kickbacks," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 66(6), pages 2686-2705, June.
    18. Ying Bao & Mengze Shi & Ajay Kalra, 2022. "Designing Product Development Contracts in the Presence of Managerial Lobbying," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 68(9), pages 6797-6818, September.
    19. Xiaoyang Long & Javad Nasiry & Yaozhong Wu, 2020. "A Behavioral Study on Abandonment Decisions in Multistage Projects," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 66(5), pages 1999-2016, May.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jochen Schlapp & Nektarios Oraiopoulos & Vincent Mak, 2015. "Resource Allocation Decisions Under Imperfect Evaluation and Organizational Dynamics," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 61(9), pages 2139-2159, September.
    2. Jaeyoung Sung, 2005. "Optimal Contracts Under Adverse Selection and Moral Hazard: A Continuous-Time Approach," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 18(3), pages 1021-1073.
    3. Shubhranshu Singh, 2017. "Competition in Corruptible Markets," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 36(3), pages 361-381, May.
    4. Harris, Milton & Raviv, Artur, 1998. "Capital budgeting and delegation," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(3), pages 259-289, December.
    5. Duncan Simester & Juanjuan Zhang, 2014. "Why Do Salespeople Spend So Much Time Lobbying for Low Prices?," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 33(6), pages 796-808, November.
    6. Guillaume Roger, 2016. "A Revelation Mechanism for Soft Information under Moral Hazard," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 18(5), pages 752-763, October.
    7. Juanjuan Zhang, 2016. "Deadlines in Product Development," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 62(11), pages 3310-3326, November.
    8. Gabaix, Xavier & Edmans, Alex, 2010. "Risk and the CEO Market: Why Do Some Large Firms Hire Highly-Paid, Low-Talent CEOs?," CEPR Discussion Papers 7836, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    9. García, Diego, 2014. "Optimal contracts with privately informed agents and active principals," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 695-709.
    10. Thibaut Mastrolia & Dylan Possamaï, 2018. "Moral Hazard Under Ambiguity," Journal of Optimization Theory and Applications, Springer, vol. 179(2), pages 452-500, November.
    11. Yutaka ARIMOTO & Tetsuji OKAZAKI & Masaki NAKABAYASHI, 2010. "Agrarian Land Tenancy In Prewar Japan: Contract Choice And Implications On Productivity," The Developing Economies, Institute of Developing Economies, vol. 48(3), pages 293-318, September.
    12. Muller, Holger M., 2000. "Asymptotic Efficiency in Dynamic Principal-Agent Problems," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 91(2), pages 292-301, April.
    13. Danielsson, Jon & Jorgensen, Bjorn N. & de Vries, Casper G., 2002. "Incentives for effective risk management," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 26(7), pages 1407-1425, July.
    14. Ivan Balbuzanov, 2019. "Lies and consequences," International Journal of Game Theory, Springer;Game Theory Society, vol. 48(4), pages 1203-1240, December.
    15. Louis Kaplow, 1992. "A Model of the Optimal Complexity of Rules," NBER Working Papers 3958, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    16. Fay, Marianne & Martimort, David & Straub, Stéphane, 2021. "Funding and financing infrastructure: The joint-use of public and private finance," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    17. Jaeyoung Sung, 2022. "Optimal contracting under mean-volatility joint ambiguity uncertainties," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 74(2), pages 593-642, September.
    18. Berger, Allen N. & Espinosa-Vega, Marco A. & Frame, W. Scott & Miller, Nathan H., 2011. "Why do borrowers pledge collateral? New empirical evidence on the role of asymmetric information," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 20(1), pages 55-70, January.
    19. Angelo Baglioni & Luca Colombo, 2009. "Managers’ Compensation And Misreporting: A Costly State Verification Approach," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 47(2), pages 278-289, April.
    20. W. Bentley MacLeod, 2006. "Reputations, Relationships and the Enforcement of Incomplete Contracts," CESifo Working Paper Series 1730, CESifo.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:inm:ormnsc:v:56:y:2010:i:7:p:1161-1179. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Asher (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/inforea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.