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Strategic thinking in contests

Author

Listed:
  • David Bruner

    (Appalachian State University)

  • Caleb Cox

    (Virginia Commonwealth University)

  • David M. McEvoy

    (Appalachian State University)

  • Brock Stoddard

    (Appalachian State University)

Abstract

We examine motives for ‘overbidding’ in contests between individuals using a “two-headed” approach to decision-making. In “two-headed” contests, subject pairs send suggested bids and messages to a partner. Content analysis of the messages provides insight into an individual’s bidding motives. In addition, we elicit measures of preferences, beliefs, and impulsiveness. We find that beliefs about others’ bids and messages that emphasize winning (i.e., utility of winning) are the most robust predictors of ‘overbidding’. Our results suggest that analyzing communication provides a rich window into an individual’s thought process when making decisions, and can complement insights from elicited values from common decision tasks (Replication materials, including data, do files, and software, are available at https://sites.google.com/view/david-bruner/research ).

Suggested Citation

  • David Bruner & Caleb Cox & David M. McEvoy & Brock Stoddard, 2022. "Strategic thinking in contests," Experimental Economics, Springer;Economic Science Association, vol. 25(3), pages 942-973, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:expeco:v:25:y:2022:i:3:d:10.1007_s10683-021-09735-6
    DOI: 10.1007/s10683-021-09735-6
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    Cited by:

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Tullock contest; Lottery contest; Winner-take-all; Two-headed contest; Team contest; Strategic thinking; Communication; Overbidding;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C92 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Group Behavior

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