INDUCING VARIETY: A THEORY OF INNOVATION CONTESTS
研究了当创新质量取决于未知的最佳研究方法时，如何设计竞赛来诱导研究方法的多样性，发现奖金锦标赛能实现社会最优多样性。
Abstract This article analyzes the design of innovation contests when the quality of an innovation depends on the research approach, but the best approach is unknown. Inducing a variety of research approaches generates an option value. We show that suitable contests can induce such variety. The buyer‐optimal contest is a bonus tournament , where suppliers can choose only between a low bid and a high bid. This contest implements the socially optimal variety for a suitable parameter range. Finally, we compare the optimal contest to scoring auctions and fixed‐prize tournaments.