IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/jocore/v69y2025i6p1116-1140.html

Productive and Destructive Group Contests: An Experimental Investigation

Author

Listed:
  • Guillaume Cheikbossian
  • Julie Rosaz

Abstract

In this study, we experimentally test the theoretical results of a contest game between groups when the value of the prize is fixed and when it is endogenously determined. It can decrease with contest efforts of all groups as in the case of an armed conflict or a lawsuit. The value of the prize can also increase with contest efforts as in the case of a patent race. We also analyze the impact of different groupings of players on contest efforts. We observe overinvestment and no negative effect of group size whether the prize value is exogenous or endogenous. Also, a productive contest seems to have no positive effect on individual investments. A destructive contest, however, does have a significant negative impact, but this effect is reduced with a larger number of competing groups.

Suggested Citation

  • Guillaume Cheikbossian & Julie Rosaz, 2025. "Productive and Destructive Group Contests: An Experimental Investigation," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 69(6), pages 1116-1140, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:jocore:v:69:y:2025:i:6:p:1116-1140
    DOI: 10.1177/00220027241290770
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00220027241290770
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/00220027241290770?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. Amnon Rapoport & Gary Bornstein, 1989. "Solving Public Good Problems in Competition Between Equal and Unequal Size Groups," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 33(3), pages 460-479, September.
    2. Konrad, Kai A., 2009. "Strategy and Dynamics in Contests," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199549603.
    3. Stefan Szymanski & Stefan Késenne, 2010. "Competitive Balance and Gate Revenue Sharing in Team Sports," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: The Comparative Economics of Sport, chapter 7, pages 229-243, Palgrave Macmillan.
    4. Shumei Hirai & Ferenc Szidarovszky, 2013. "Existence And Uniqueness Of Equilibrium In Asymmetric Contests With Endogenous Prizes," International Game Theory Review (IGTR), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 15(01), pages 1-9.
    5. Ananish Chaudhuri, 2011. "Sustaining cooperation in laboratory public goods experiments: a selective survey of the literature," Experimental Economics, Springer;Economic Science Association, vol. 14(1), pages 47-83, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Roman M. Sheremeta, 2018. "Behavior In Group Contests: A Review Of Experimental Research," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(3), pages 683-704, July.
    2. Cheikbossian, Guillaume, 2021. "The evolutionary stability of in-group altruism in productive and destructive group contests," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 188(C), pages 236-252.
    3. Roman Sheremeta, 2018. "Experimental Research on Contests," Working Papers 18-07, Chapman University, Economic Science Institute.
    4. Song, Jian & Houser, Daniel, 2021. "Non-exclusive group contests: An experimental analysis," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    5. Horstmann, Elaine & Blankenberg, Ann-Kathrin & Schneider, Tim, 2017. "Cooperation in public goods games: Enhancing effects of group identity and competition," University of Göttingen Working Papers in Economics 324, University of Goettingen, Department of Economics.
    6. Sheremeta, Roman, 2009. "Essays on Experimental Investigation of Lottery Contests," MPRA Paper 49888, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Damian S. Damianov & Shane Sanders & Anil Yildizparlak, 2018. "Asymmetric endogenous prize contests," Theory and Decision, Springer, vol. 85(3), pages 435-453, October.
    8. Masaki Fujimoto, 2023. "A Dynamic Analysis of Equal Revenue Sharing and Endogenous Salary Caps in the N-Team Leagues," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 24(5), pages 624-638, June.
    9. Sahm, Marco, 2017. "Are sequential round-robin tournaments discriminatory?," BERG Working Paper Series 121, Bamberg University, Bamberg Economic Research Group.
    10. Anil Yildizparlak, 2018. "An Application of Contest Success Functions for Draws on European Soccer," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 19(8), pages 1191-1212, December.
    11. Majerczyk, Michael & Sheremeta, Roman & Tian, Yu, 2019. "Adding tournament to tournament: Combining between-team and within-team incentives," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 166(C), pages 1-11.
    12. Kräkel, Matthias & Szech, Nora & von Bieberstein, Frauke, 2014. "Externalities in recruiting," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 107(PA), pages 123-135.
    13. Fausto Cavalli & Mario Gilli & Ahmad Naimzada, 2025. "The role of polarization and hostility on equilibria in a simple class of symmetric conflict models," Theory and Decision, Springer, vol. 98(1), pages 61-83, February.
    14. Sahm, Marco, 2017. "Are Sequential Round-Robin Tournaments Discriminatory?," VfS Annual Conference 2017 (Vienna): Alternative Structures for Money and Banking 168113, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    15. Marco Sahm, 2017. "Are Sequential Round-Robin Tournaments Discriminatory?," CESifo Working Paper Series 6421, CESifo.
    16. Daniela Grieco & Marco Faillo & Luca Zarri, 2013. "Top Contributors as Punishers," Working Papers 24/2013, University of Verona, Department of Economics.
    17. PEETERS, Thomas & SZYMANSKI, Stefan, 2012. "Vertical restraints in soccer: Financial fair play and the English Premier League," Working Papers 2012028, University of Antwerp, Faculty of Business and Economics.
    18. de Roos, Nicolas & Matros, Alexander & Smirnov, Vladimir & Valencia, Zehra, 2022. "Choosing the Prize in Contests," Working Papers 2022-04, University of Sydney, School of Economics.
    19. Kris De Jaegher, 2021. "Common‐Enemy Effects: Multidisciplinary Antecedents And Economic Perspectives," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(1), pages 3-33, February.
    20. Guillaume Cheikbossian, 2021. "Group cooperation against a hegemon," Journal of Theoretical Politics, , vol. 33(1), pages 25-55, January.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:sae:jocore:v:69:y:2025:i:6:p:1116-1140. 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: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://pss.la.psu.edu/ .

    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.