Cheat to win: How to hack tournament theory

It may be surprising that one of the most popular compensation schemes in business is so open to being hacked – to having managers cheat to win. We explore tournament theory to detail its vulnerabilities to various forms of cheating unilateral and multilateral. We identify who is most likely to be involved and under what conditions. We describe the costs to the victims, to the firm, and to society. We outline the possible strategic effects – in...