When, in a supply chain, a supplier and a buyer have the choice of transaction form to do business, the equilibrium transaction form which emerges is much more constrained than previously envisaged in literature. In this paper, two forms of long-term supply contracts and procurement in the spot...

The issue of whether or not trade can be sustained when exchange is non-simultaneous is addressed. An environment in which a buyer is exposed to the possibility that a seller will not deliver an item which has been paid for is examined. Situations of this nature often arise when...

When exchange is sequential, and no binding agreements can be written, the agent acting first is exposed to the possibility that even if he honors the agreement his trading partner might not. Repeated interaction of this nature is modeled. Exchange will successfully occur when there are ample...

Using data on all restaurants opened in Texas between 1980 and 1995 by seven large U.S. fast-food chains, we examine the extent of multi-unit ownership among franchisees and analyze how franchisors allocate the ownership of new units. We show that franchisees with nearby units are much more...

In a property-rights framework, I study how organizational form and quantity contracts interact in generating investment incentives. The model nests standard property-rights and hold-up models as special cases. I admit general message-dependent contracts but provide conditions under which...

The limited liability partnership has been heralded as a cost-effective way of doing business for professional firms that seek to reduce the personal liability risk of partners who are not directly involved in negligent acts or wrongdoing. The LLP business form has been adopted by all US states...