Earned entitlements and risky investments in bargaining: an experiment


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BÜYÜKBOYACI HANAY M. İ., Karagözoğlu E., KÜÇÜKŞENEL S.

Experimental Economics, 2026 (SSCI, Scopus) identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Basım Tarihi: 2026
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1017/eec.2026.10047
  • Dergi Adı: Experimental Economics
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, IBZ Online, ABI/INFORM, EconLit, Psycinfo, zbMATH
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: Bargaining, investment, Laboratory experiments, responsibility, risk-taking
  • Açık Arşiv Koleksiyonu: AVESİS Açık Erişim Koleksiyonu
  • Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

In various organizational settings, a team member is given the authority to make an investment decision that influences the value of the jointly produced surplus. We experimentally investigate the effect of asymmetric status, investment decisions, and the outcome of these decisions on bargaining behavior and outcomes. Agents’ initial contributions to the surplus are determined by their relative performances in a real-effort task. Three treatments vary in how the final surplus value is determined. We observe that when low-contributors take a risk, they are punished (rewarded) for failure (success), whereas high-contributors receive a fixed share independent of the outcome. Analysis of bargaining process variables, subjects’ communication during bargaining, and third parties’ normative judgments provides further insights into the possible mechanism behind this observation.