The consumer scam: an agency-theoretic approach
Despite the extensive body of literature that aims to explain the phenomenon of consumer scams, the structure of information in scam relationships remains relatively understudied. The purpose of this article is to develop an agency-theoretical approach to the study of information in perpetrator-vict...
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| Format: | Article |
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Springer
2017
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/41333/ |
| _version_ | 1848796250911014912 |
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| author | Pouryousefi, Sareh Frooman, Jeff |
| author_facet | Pouryousefi, Sareh Frooman, Jeff |
| author_sort | Pouryousefi, Sareh |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Despite the extensive body of literature that aims to explain the phenomenon of consumer scams, the structure of information in scam relationships remains relatively understudied. The purpose of this article is to develop an agency-theoretical approach to the study of information in perpetrator-victim interactions. Drawing a distinction between failures of observation and failures of judgement in the pre-contract phase, we introduce a typology and a set of propositions that explain the severity of adverse selection problems in three classes of scam relationships. Our analysis provides a novel, systematic explanation of the structure of information that facilitates scam victimisation, while also enabling critical scrutiny of a core assumption in agency theory regarding contract design. We highlight the role of scam perpetrators as agents who have access to private information and exercise considerable control over the terms and design of scam relationships. Focusing on the consumer scam context, we question a theoretical assumption, largely taken for granted in the agency literature, that contact design is necessarily in the purview of the uninformed principal. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:45:00Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-41333 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:45:00Z |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publisher | Springer |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-413332020-05-04T18:36:44Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/41333/ The consumer scam: an agency-theoretic approach Pouryousefi, Sareh Frooman, Jeff Despite the extensive body of literature that aims to explain the phenomenon of consumer scams, the structure of information in scam relationships remains relatively understudied. The purpose of this article is to develop an agency-theoretical approach to the study of information in perpetrator-victim interactions. Drawing a distinction between failures of observation and failures of judgement in the pre-contract phase, we introduce a typology and a set of propositions that explain the severity of adverse selection problems in three classes of scam relationships. Our analysis provides a novel, systematic explanation of the structure of information that facilitates scam victimisation, while also enabling critical scrutiny of a core assumption in agency theory regarding contract design. We highlight the role of scam perpetrators as agents who have access to private information and exercise considerable control over the terms and design of scam relationships. Focusing on the consumer scam context, we question a theoretical assumption, largely taken for granted in the agency literature, that contact design is necessarily in the purview of the uninformed principal. Springer 2017-03-07 Article PeerReviewed Pouryousefi, Sareh and Frooman, Jeff (2017) The consumer scam: an agency-theoretic approach. Journal of Business Ethics . ISSN 0167-4544 Consumer scam Fraud Agency theory Information asymmetry Adverse selection Contract design http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10551-017-3466-x doi:10.1007/s10551-017-3466-x doi:10.1007/s10551-017-3466-x |
| spellingShingle | Consumer scam Fraud Agency theory Information asymmetry Adverse selection Contract design Pouryousefi, Sareh Frooman, Jeff The consumer scam: an agency-theoretic approach |
| title | The consumer scam: an agency-theoretic approach |
| title_full | The consumer scam: an agency-theoretic approach |
| title_fullStr | The consumer scam: an agency-theoretic approach |
| title_full_unstemmed | The consumer scam: an agency-theoretic approach |
| title_short | The consumer scam: an agency-theoretic approach |
| title_sort | consumer scam: an agency-theoretic approach |
| topic | Consumer scam Fraud Agency theory Information asymmetry Adverse selection Contract design |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/41333/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/41333/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/41333/ |