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Managerial Objectives, Capital Structure, and the Provision of Worker Incentives

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  • Garvey, Gerald T
  • Swan, Peter L

Abstract

Worker incentive schemes are invariably assumed to be administered by an owner-entrepreneur who has an incentive to understate worker performance after the event. While tournaments can overcome this problem, they discourage cooperation between workers. The authors show that a professional manager concerned with equality between workers and with avoiding bankruptcy rather than maximizing shareholder wealth will conduct a tournament that preserves individual effort incentives while promoting cooperation between workers. The theory predicts lower debt levels and more compressed pay scales as cooperation becomes more important. In the limit, this becomes a group bonus scheme supported by "blue-chip" debt. Copyright 1992 by University of Chicago Press.

Suggested Citation

  • Garvey, Gerald T & Swan, Peter L, 1992. "Managerial Objectives, Capital Structure, and the Provision of Worker Incentives," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 10(4), pages 357-379, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucp:jlabec:v:10:y:1992:i:4:p:357-79
    DOI: 10.1086/298291
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Diane J. Reyniers, 1996. "Cooperation In Contests," Rationality and Society, , vol. 8(4), pages 413-432, November.
    2. Waldman, Michael, 2013. "Classic promotion tournaments versus market-based tournaments," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 31(3), pages 198-210.
    3. Kissan Joseph & David N. Laband & Vivek Patil, 2005. "Author Order and Research Quality," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 71(3), pages 545-555, January.
    4. Dragon, Robert & Garvey, Gerald T. & Turnbull, Geoffrey K., 1996. "A collective tournament," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 223-227, February.
    5. Elazar Berkovitch & Ronen Israel & Yossef Spiegel, 2000. "Managerial Compensation and Capital Structure," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 9(4), pages 549-584, December.
    6. David N. Laband & Robert D. Tollison, 2000. "Intellectual Collaboration," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 108(3), pages 632-661, June.
    7. Neal Arthur & Gerald Garvey & Peter Swan & Stephen Taylor, 1993. "Agency Theory and “Management Research†A Comment," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 18(1), pages 93-102, June.
    8. Kräkel, Matthias & Nieken, Petra, 2015. "Relative performance pay in the shadow of crisis," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 244-268.
    9. repec:eee:labchp:v:3:y:1999:i:pb:p:2373-2437 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Jay Stewart, 1999. "Adverse Selection and Pay Compression," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 65(4), pages 885-899, April.
    11. E. Glenn Dutcher & Regine Oexl & Dmitry Ryvkin & Tim Salmon, 2021. "Competitive versus cooperative incentives in team production with heterogeneous agents," Working Papers 2021-26, Faculty of Economics and Statistics, Universität Innsbruck.
    12. Baik, Kyung Hwan, 1998. "Difference-form contest success functions and effort levels in contests," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 14(4), pages 685-701, November.
    13. Ivana Vitanova, 2022. "CEO overconfidence and corporate tournaments," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(5), pages 1423-1438, July.
    14. Lex Donaldson & James H. Davis, 1993. "The Need for Theoretical Coherence and Intellectual Rigour in Corporate Governance Research: Reply to Critics of Donaldson and Davis," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 18(2), pages 213-223, December.
    15. Karotkin, Drora & Paroush, Jacob, 1995. "Incentive schemes for investment in human capital by members of a team of decision makers," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 2(1), pages 41-51, March.
    16. Jay Stewart, 1999. "Adverse Selection and Pay Compression," Southern Economic Journal, Southern Economic Association, vol. 65(4), pages 885-899, April.
    17. DeVaro, Jed, 2011. "Using "opposing responses" and relative performance to distinguish empirically among alternative models of promotions," MPRA Paper 35175, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    18. Garvey, Gerald T & Swan, Peter L, 1995. "Shareholder Activism, "Voluntary" Restructuring, and Internal Labor Markets," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 4(4), pages 591-621, Winter.
    19. Jay Stewart, 1999. "Adverse Selection and Pay Compression," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 65(4), pages 885-899, April.
    20. Danilov, Anastasia & Harbring, Christine & Irlenbusch, Bernd, 2014. "Helping in Teams," IZA Discussion Papers 8707, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    21. Robert Drago & Gerald T. Garvey, 1994. "Incentives for Helping on the Job: Theory and Evidence," Labor and Demography 9402002, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 29 Mar 1994.
    22. Gaston, Noel, 1997. "Efficiency wages, managerial discretion, and the fear of bankruptcy," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 41-59, May.
    23. Ugarte, Armando & Oren, Shmuel, 2000. "Coordination of internal supply chains in vertically integrated high-tech manufacturing organizations (HTMOs)," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(3), pages 235-252, October.

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