Contracts, Reference Points, and Competition—Behavioral Effects of The Fundamental Transformation
实验研究事前不完全合同对事后交易的影响，发现合同作为参照点的作用仅在竞争性市场中成立，非竞争方式确定条款时失效，揭示了“根本性转变”的行为效应。
In this paper we study the role of incomplete ex ante contracts for ex post trade. Previous experimental evidence indicates that a contract provides a reference point for entitlements when the terms are negotiated in a competitive market. We show that this finding no longer holds when the terms are determined in a non-competitive way. Our results imply that the presence of a "fundamental transformation" (i.e., the transition from a competitive market to a bilateral relationship) is important for a contract to become a reference point. To the best of our knowledge this behavioral aspect of the fundamental transformation has not been shown before.