Strategic delegation in a sequential model with multiple stages

Abstract: We analyze strategic delegation in a Stackelberg model with an arbitrary number, n, of firms. We show that the n-1 last movers delegate their production decisions to managers whereas the first mover does not. Equilibrium incentive rates are increasing in the order with which managers select quantities. Letting u_i^* denote the equilibrium payoff of the firm whose manager moves in the i-th place, we show that u_n^>u_{n-1}^>...>u_2^>u_1^. We also compare the delegation outcome of our game with that of a Cournot oligopoly and show that the late (early) moving firms choose higher (lower) incentive rates than the Cournot firms.