Communication of Preferences in Contests for Contracts

Todd Kaplan

MPRA Paper from University Library of Munich, Germany

Abstract: This paper models a contest where several sellers compete for a contract with a single buyer. There are several styles of possible designs with a subset of them preferred by the buyer. We examine what happens when the buyer communicates information about his preferences. If the sellers are unable to change their style, then there is no effect on the welfare of the sellers. If the sellers are able to make adjustments, extra information may either boost or damage the sellers' profits. While the chance that there will be a proposal of a style preferred by the buyer cannot decrease, the buyer's surplus may increase or decrease.

Keywords: Contests; Procurement; Communication (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D44 H57 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2008-03-31, Revised 2009-08-08
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Related works:
Journal Article: Communication of preferences in contests for contracts (2012)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pra:mprapa:18696

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