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Econometrica Vol. 61 No. 5 1993

The Organization of Decentralized Information Processing

Roy Radner

Abstract

In a decision-theoretic model of a firm, the author represents managers as information processors of limited capacity; efficiency is measured in terms of (1) the number of processors and (2) the delay between the receipt of information by the organization and the implementation of the decision. The author characterizes efficient networks for both one-shot and repeated regimes, as well as the corresponding 'production function' relating the number of items processed to the number of processors and the delay. He sketches some applications to common decision paradigms, and implications for decentralization and organizational returns to scale.

DOI
10.2307/2951495
Volume
61
Issue
5
Pages
1109
Sources
bibtex:phds-export.bib crossref openalex

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