Delegation of quality control in value chains

This paper studies the decision of a firm that sells an experience good to delegate quality control to an independent monitor. In an infinitely repeated game consumers’ trust provides incentives to (1) acquire information about whether the good is defective and (2) withhold the good from sale if it...

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Autor principal: Saak, Alexander E.
Formato: Artículo preliminar
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: International Food Policy Research Institute 2016
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/147431
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author Saak, Alexander E.
author_browse Saak, Alexander E.
author_facet Saak, Alexander E.
author_sort Saak, Alexander E.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description This paper studies the decision of a firm that sells an experience good to delegate quality control to an independent monitor. In an infinitely repeated game consumers’ trust provides incentives to (1) acquire information about whether the good is defective and (2) withhold the good from sale if it is defective. If third-party reports are observable to consumers, delegation of monitoring lessens the first and dispenses with the second moral hazard concern but also creates agency costs due to either limited liability or lack of commitment. In equilibrium the firm controls quality without an independent monitor only if trades are sufficiently frequent and consumer information about quality is sufficiently precise. This result holds under different assumptions about feasible contracts, collusion, verifiability of reports, joint inspections, and the number of firms that hire the third-party monitor. If third-party reports are not publicly observed, delegation can be optimal only if two or more firms hire the third-party monitor because then both moral hazard concerns are present under delegation.
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spelling CGSpace1474312025-11-06T05:53:49Z Delegation of quality control in value chains Saak, Alexander E. trust value chains quality control moral hazard monitoring food safety monitoring techniques This paper studies the decision of a firm that sells an experience good to delegate quality control to an independent monitor. In an infinitely repeated game consumers’ trust provides incentives to (1) acquire information about whether the good is defective and (2) withhold the good from sale if it is defective. If third-party reports are observable to consumers, delegation of monitoring lessens the first and dispenses with the second moral hazard concern but also creates agency costs due to either limited liability or lack of commitment. In equilibrium the firm controls quality without an independent monitor only if trades are sufficiently frequent and consumer information about quality is sufficiently precise. This result holds under different assumptions about feasible contracts, collusion, verifiability of reports, joint inspections, and the number of firms that hire the third-party monitor. If third-party reports are not publicly observed, delegation can be optimal only if two or more firms hire the third-party monitor because then both moral hazard concerns are present under delegation. 2016-04-21 2024-06-21T09:22:51Z 2024-06-21T09:22:51Z Working Paper https://hdl.handle.net/10568/147431 en https://hdl.handle.net/10568/160217 https://hdl.handle.net/10568/150214 https://hdl.handle.net/10568/154015 https://hdl.handle.net/10568/33955 Open Access application/pdf International Food Policy Research Institute Saak, Alexander E. 2016. Delegation of quality control in value chains. IFPRI Discussion Paper 1526. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://hdl.handle.net/10568/147431
spellingShingle trust
value chains
quality control
moral hazard
monitoring
food safety
monitoring techniques
Saak, Alexander E.
Delegation of quality control in value chains
title Delegation of quality control in value chains
title_full Delegation of quality control in value chains
title_fullStr Delegation of quality control in value chains
title_full_unstemmed Delegation of quality control in value chains
title_short Delegation of quality control in value chains
title_sort delegation of quality control in value chains
topic trust
value chains
quality control
moral hazard
monitoring
food safety
monitoring techniques
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/147431
work_keys_str_mv AT saakalexandere delegationofqualitycontrolinvaluechains