Arbeitspapier

Should You Allow Your Agent to Become Your Competitor? On Non-Compete Agreements in Employment Contracts

We discuss a principal-agent model in which the principal has the opportunity to include a non-compete agreement in the employment contract. We show that not imposing such an agreement can be beneficial for the principal as the possibility to leave the firm generates implicit incentives for the agent. The principal prefers to impose such a clause if and only if the value created is sufficiently small relative to the agent's outside option. If the principal can use an option con- tract for retaining the agent, she will never prefer a strict non-compete agreement.

Language
Englisch

Bibliographic citation
Series: SFB/TR 15 Discussion Paper ; No. 99

Classification
Wirtschaft
Firm Behavior: Theory
Economics of Contract: Theory
Subject
fine
incentives
incomplete contracts
non-compete agreements
option contract

Event
Geistige Schöpfung
(who)
Kräkel, Matthias
Sliwka, Dirk
Event
Veröffentlichung
(who)
Sonderforschungsbereich/Transregio 15 - Governance and the Efficiency of Economic Systems (GESY)
(where)
München
(when)
2006

DOI
doi:10.5282/ubm/epub.13452
Handle
URN
urn:nbn:de:bvb:19-epub-13452-9
Last update
10.03.2025, 11:42 AM CET

Data provider

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Object type

  • Arbeitspapier

Associated

  • Kräkel, Matthias
  • Sliwka, Dirk
  • Sonderforschungsbereich/Transregio 15 - Governance and the Efficiency of Economic Systems (GESY)

Time of origin

  • 2006

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