Does sequential decision-making trigger collective investment in automobile R&D? Experimental evidence

We conduct a framed laboratory experiment to gain in-depth insights on factors that drive collective research and development efforts among firms located along the automotive value chain. In particular, we employ a public goods experiment and analyze the influence of sequential decision-making on the willingness to engage in cooperation and on economic welfare. By using a linear value chain setting with three suppliers and one OEM, we analyze vertical R&D cooperation. Our results reveal that contributions increase in situations with sequential decision-making and that sequential decisions increase the overall welfare, even in case of unequally distributed R&D budgets.