IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/cpr/ceprdp/4072.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Optimal Information Management: Organizations versus Markets

Author

Listed:
  • Castanheira, Micael
  • Leppämäki, Mikko

Abstract

This Paper examines the optimal structure of management when a decision-maker must have a mass of information processed before making a decision. They can either delegate processing tasks inside their own organization, in which case they retain full authority over the agents, or they hand over this authority to an outside supplier by outsourcing these activities. By incorporating authority in a stylized model of information processing, we endogenize the comparative advantage of each form of delegation, and provide novel microfoundations for the make-or-buy decision. We outline precise conditions under which giving up authority is optimal. We also show which tasks should be outsourced to align the preferences of the outside supplier with those of the decision-makers, and thereby maximize the benefits accruing from outsourcing.

Suggested Citation

  • Castanheira, Micael & Leppämäki, Mikko, 2003. "Optimal Information Management: Organizations versus Markets," CEPR Discussion Papers 4072, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:4072
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://cepr.org/publications/DP4072
    Download Restriction: CEPR Discussion Papers are free to download for our researchers, subscribers and members. If you fall into one of these categories but have trouble downloading our papers, please contact us at subscribers@cepr.org
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sah, Raaj Kumar & Stiglitz, Joseph E, 1986. "The Architecture of Economic Systems: Hierarchies and Polyarchies," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 76(4), pages 716-727, September.
    2. Dimitri Vayanos, 2003. "The Decentralization of Information Processing in the Presence of Interactions," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 70(3), pages 667-695.
    3. Timothy Zandt, 1999. "Decentralized Information Processing in the Theory of Organizations," International Economic Association Series, in: Murat R. Sertel (ed.), Contemporary Economic Issues, chapter 7, pages 125-160, Palgrave Macmillan.
    4. Timothy Van Zandt, 1997. "Real-Time Hierarchical Resource Allocation," Discussion Papers 1231, Northwestern University, Center for Mathematical Studies in Economics and Management Science.
    5. Roy Radner & Timothy Van Zandt, 1992. "Information Processing in Firms and Returns to Scale," Annals of Economics and Statistics, GENES, issue 25-26, pages 265-298.
    6. repec:adr:anecst:y:1992:i:25-26:p:13 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Radner, Roy, 1993. "The Organization of Decentralized Information Processing," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 61(5), pages 1109-1146, September.
    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. Grüner, Hans Peter, 2007. "Protocol Design and (De-)Centralization," CEPR Discussion Papers 6357, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    2. Guido Fioretti, 2012. "Two measures of organizational flexibility," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 22(5), pages 957-979, November.
    3. Fioretti, Guido, 2008. "Two Lyapunov Functions for Flexible Organizations," MPRA Paper 8204, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Daron Acemoglu & Philippe Aghion & Claire Lelarge & John Van Reenen & Fabrizio Zilibotti, 2007. "Technology, Information, and the Decentralization of the Firm," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 122(4), pages 1759-1799.
    5. Andrea Patacconi, 2009. "Coordination and delay in hierarchies," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 40(1), pages 190-208, March.
    6. Nicholas Bloom & Raffaella Sadun, 2012. "The Organization of Firms Across Countries," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 127(4), pages 1663-1705.
    7. Migrow, Dimitri, 2018. "Designing Communication Hierarchies," CRETA Online Discussion Paper Series 44, Centre for Research in Economic Theory and its Applications CRETA.
    8. Migrow, Dimitri, 2021. "Designing communication hierarchies," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 198(C).
    9. Van Zandt, Timothy, 1995. "Hierarchical computation of the resource allocation problem," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 39(3-4), pages 700-708, April.
    10. Daron Acemoglu & Pol Antras & Elhanan Helpman, 2005. "Contracts and the Division of Labor," Harvard Institute of Economic Research Working Papers 2074, Harvard - Institute of Economic Research.
    11. Felipe A. Csaszar, 2013. "An Efficient Frontier in Organization Design: Organizational Structure as a Determinant of Exploration and Exploitation," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 24(4), pages 1083-1101, August.
    12. Orbay, Hakan, 2002. "Information Processing Hierarchies," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 105(2), pages 370-407, August.
    13. Wouter Dessein & Tano Santos, 2003. "The Demand for Coordination," NBER Working Papers 10056, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    14. Maria De Paola & Vincenzo Scoppa, 2009. "Task assignment, incentives and technological factors," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(1), pages 43-55.
    15. Luis Garicano & Yanhui Wu, 2012. "Knowledge, Communication, and Organizational Capabilities," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 23(5), pages 1382-1397, October.
    16. Guido Fioretti, 2002. "Knowledge and Structure," Industrial Organization 0207011, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    17. Marschak, Thomas, 2006. "Organization Structure," MPRA Paper 81518, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    18. , & , M. & ,, 2013. "Hierarchical cheap talk," Theoretical Economics, Econometric Society, vol. 8(1), January.
    19. Àlex Arenas & Antonio Cabrales & Leon Danon & Albert Díaz-Guilera & Roger Guimerà & Fernando Vega-Redondo, 2010. "Optimal information transmission in organizations: search and congestion," Review of Economic Design, Springer;Society for Economic Design, vol. 14(1), pages 75-93, March.
    20. Jeremy C. Stein, 2002. "Information Production and Capital Allocation: Decentralized versus Hierarchical Firms," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 57(5), pages 1891-1921, October.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Information processing; Boundaries of the firm; Authority; Delegation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D21 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Theory
    • D73 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Bureaucracy; Administrative Processes in Public Organizations; Corruption
    • L22 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Organization and Market Structure

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:cpr:ceprdp:4072. 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: the person in charge (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.cepr.org .

    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.