报告题目：Sunk Cost Fallacy, Self-control, and Contract Design
报告人：张 兴 韩国成均馆大学
报告时间：2022年10月19日(周三) 16:00-17:30
讲座地点：中国科学院大学中关村校区教学楼S406； 腾讯会议ID：337 514 023
内容摘要
This paper examines the role of the sunk cost fallacy as a commitment device in mitigating the self-control problem and analyzes its implications for optimal contract design. The sunk cost fallacy associated with the fixed fee in a contract can induce increased consumption and an escalation of commitment. Consumers may anticipate the fallacy ex-ante, and strategically use it to mitigate their own self-control problems. While the fallacy may lead to a loss of consumption flexibility in the event of high consumption costs, it can serve as a commitment device to enforce self-control. A firm's optimal policy should balance the consumer's demand for flexibility in consumption with the demand for commitment required for self-control. The authors find a non-monotonic effect of the sunk cost fallacy on the firm's profits in the investment goods markets, while profits decrease with the fallacy in the leisure goods market. The firm can use a two-part tariff or provide a refund to mitigate the sunk cost fallacy. The first-best profit level can be achieved when the fallacy is memory-cue-based but not regret-based, which highlights the importance of understanding the underlying psychological mechanisms of the sunk cost fallacy for contract design.
主讲人简介
张兴博士毕业于新加坡国立大学，现为韩国成均馆大学商学研究院(SKK GSB)助理教授。研究方向为行为决策理论在市场营销中的应用。近年来相关研究发表在Management Science，Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA等世界顶级学术杂志上。研究成果被泰晤士报、每日邮报、参考消息、人民网等海内外多家媒体报道。担任Management Science，Annals of Operations Research， Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization 等期刊匿名审稿人。在成均馆大学教授MBA营销管理和客户分析课程，获得2021年度 “杰出教学奖”。
