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Team Incentives and Reference-Dependent Preferences

Author

Listed:
  • Daido, Kohei
  • Murooka, Takeshi

Abstract

We investigate a multi-agent moral-hazard model where agents have expectation-based reference-dependent preferences a la Kszegi and Rabin (2006, 2007). We show that even when each agent's probability of success in a project is independent, a principal may employ team incentives. Because the agents are loss averse, they have first-order risk aversion to wage uncertainty. This causes the agents to work harder when their own failure is stochastically compensated through other agents' performance. In the optimal contract, agents with high performance are always rewarded, whereas agents with low performance are rewarded if and only if other agents' performance is high.

Suggested Citation

  • Daido, Kohei & Murooka, Takeshi, 2016. "Team Incentives and Reference-Dependent Preferences," Munich Reprints in Economics 43521, University of Munich, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:lmu:muenar:43521
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Balmaceda, Felipe, 2018. "Optimal task assignments with loss-averse agents," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 1-26.
    2. Herweg, Fabian & Karle, Heiko & Müller, Daniel, 2018. "Incomplete contracting, renegotiation, and expectation-based loss aversion," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 176-201.
    3. Marchegiani, Lucia & Reggiani, Tommaso & Rizzolli, Matteo, 2016. "Loss averse agents and lenient supervisors in performance appraisal," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 131(PA), pages 183-197.
    4. Benjamin Balzer & Antonio Rosato, 2018. "Expectations-Based Loss Aversion in Common-Value Auctions: Extensive vs. Intensive Risk," Working Paper Series 50, Economics Discipline Group, UTS Business School, University of Technology, Sydney.
    5. Dato, Simon & Grunewald, Andreas & Müller, Daniel & Strack, Philipp, 2017. "Expectation-based loss aversion and strategic interaction," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 681-705.
    6. Heiko Karle & Martin Peitz, 2014. "Competition under consumer loss aversion," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 45(1), pages 1-31, March.
    7. Benjamin Balzer & Antonio Rosato & Jonas von Wangenheim, 2020. "Dutch versus First-Price Auctions with Dynamic Expectations-Based Reference-Dependent Preferences," Working Paper Series 2020/05, Economics Discipline Group, UTS Business School, University of Technology, Sydney.
    8. Gill, David & Stone, Rebecca, 2015. "Desert and inequity aversion in teams," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 42-54.
    9. Fu, Qiang & Lyu, Youji & Wu, Zenan & Zhang, Yuanjie, 2022. "Expectations-based loss aversion in contests," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 1-27.
    10. Francesco Fallucchi & Francesco Trevisan, 2024. "Tullock contest with reference‐dependent preferences," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 62(4), pages 1618-1628, October.
    11. Morita, Kimiyuki & Muramoto, Akitoshi & Sogo, Takeharu, 2025. "Optimal contracts under interpersonal projection," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 356-364.
    12. Balzer, Benjamin & Rosato, Antonio, 2025. "Never say never: Optimal exclusion and reserve prices with expectations-based loss-averse buyers," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 228(C).
    13. Fu, Qiang & Wang, Xiruo & Zhu, Yuxuan, 2021. "Multi-prize contests with expectation-based loss-averse players," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 205(C).
    14. Dato, Simon & Grunewald, Andreas & Müller, Daniel, 2015. "Expectation-Based Loss Aversion and Strategic Interaction," Bonn Econ Discussion Papers 02/2015, University of Bonn, Bonn Graduate School of Economics (BGSE).
    15. Karle, Heiko & Peitz, Martin, 2017. "De-targeting: Advertising an assortment of products to loss-averse consumers," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 103-124.
    16. Ho, Hoa, 2021. "Loss Aversion, Moral Hazard, and Stochastic Contracts," Discussion Papers in Economics 75307, University of Munich, Department of Economics.
    17. Daijiro Kawanaka, 2023. "Mixture Attitudes of Expectation-Based Loss Aversion," Discussion Papers in Economics and Business 23-02, Osaka University, Graduate School of Economics.
    18. Benjamin Balzer & Antonio Rosato, 2021. "Expectations-Based Loss Aversion in Auctions with Interdependent Values: Extensive vs. Intensive Risk," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(2), pages 1056-1074, February.
    19. Dato, Simon & Müller, Daniel & Grunewald, Andreas, 2015. "Expectation-Based Loss Aversion and Strategic Interaction," VfS Annual Conference 2015 (Muenster): Economic Development - Theory and Policy 112947, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    20. Simon Dato & Andreas Grunewald & Daniel Müller, 2018. "Expectation-based loss aversion and rank-order tournaments," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 66(4), pages 901-928, December.
    21. Daido, Kohei & Morita, Kimiyuki & Murooka, Takeshi & Ogawa, Hiromasa, 2013. "Task assignment under agent loss aversion," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 121(1), pages 35-38.
    22. Antonio Rosato, 2016. "Selling substitute goods to loss-averse consumers: limited availability, bargains, and rip-offs," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 47(3), pages 709-733, August.
    23. Hoa Ho, 2025. "Loss Aversion, Moral Hazard, and Stochastic Contracts," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 46(3), pages 1677-1685, April.
    24. Balzer, Benjamin & Rosato, Antonio & von Wangenheim, Jonas, 2022. "Dutch vs. first-price auctions with expectations-based loss-averse bidders," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 205(C).

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D86 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Economics of Contract Law
    • M12 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Personnel Management; Executives; Executive Compensation
    • M52 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics - - - Compensation and Compensation Methods and Their Effects

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