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Do Managers with Limited Liability Take More Risky Decisions? An Information Acquisition Model

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  • James Malcomson

Abstract

Risk-neutral individuals take more risky decisions when they have limited liability. Risk-neutral managers may not when acting as agents under contract and taking costly actions to acquire informatin before taking decisions. Limited liability makes it optimal to increase the reward for outcomes relatively more likely to arise from desirable than from undesirable actions. The resulting decisions may be less, rather than more, risky. Making a decision after acquiring information provides an additional reason to those in the classic principal-agent literature for using contracts with pay increasing in the return. Further results on the form of contracts are also derived.

Suggested Citation

  • James Malcomson, 2009. "Do Managers with Limited Liability Take More Risky Decisions? An Information Acquisition Model," Economics Series Working Papers 453, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:oxf:wpaper:453
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    Cited by:

    1. Citci, Sadettin Haluk & Inci, Eren, 2016. "The masquerade ball of the CEOs and the mask of excessive risk," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 383-393.
    2. Alice Peng‐Ju Su, 2017. "Information Acquisition and the Equilibrium Incentive Problem," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(1), pages 231-256, February.
    3. Samuel C. A. Pereira, 2021. "On the precision of information," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(3), pages 569-584, August.
    4. Ralf Ewert & Rainer Niemann, 2010. "Limited Liability, Asymmetric Taxation, and Risk Taking - Why Partial Tax Neutralities can be Harmful," CESifo Working Paper Series 3301, CESifo.
    5. Piotr Tarka & Elżbieta Jędrych, 2023. "Toward an exploratory framework of determinants of marketing research effectiveness in business organizations," Journal of Marketing Analytics, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(3), pages 503-522, September.
    6. Engert Andreas & Goldlücke Susanne, 2017. "Why Agents Need Discretion: The Business Judgment Rule as Optimal Standard of Care," Review of Law & Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 13(1), pages 1-38, March.
    7. Ralf Ewert & Rainer Niemann, 2011. "Haftungsbeschränkungen, Verlustverrechnungsbeschränkungen und die Bereitschaft zur Risikoübernahme," Schmalenbach Journal of Business Research, Springer, vol. 63(63), pages 94-131, January.
    8. Piotr Tarka, 2019. "A scale for testing of knowledge on the effective marketing research processes: multiple-group confirmatory (MGCFA) and multiple indicators-multiple causes (MIMIC) approach," Journal of Marketing Analytics, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 7(2), pages 94-121, June.

    More about this item

    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • D82 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Asymmetric and Private Information; Mechanism Design
    • D86 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Economics of Contract Law
    • J33 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Compensation Packages; Payment Methods
    • M52 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics - - - Compensation and Compensation Methods and Their Effects

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