Papers on the Theory of Agency

Barry M. Mitnick

University of Pittsburgh

Bio (KGSB)

Because of a number of inquiries I have received regarding my early work on the theory of agency, I have constructed this page to provide access to citations and, eventually, full-text copies of my papers on agency. This page continues under construction.

The theory of agency was originated by Stephen Ross and me, independently. Ross introduced the economic theory of agency; my approach was the institutional theory of agency. The basic concepts are similar. Ross's paper was published in the American Economic Review Proceedings issue in May 1973; my paper was presented at the 1973 American Political Science Association annual meeting and available via the then microfilmed Proceedings. The first paper in a regular (i.e., nonproceedings) issue of an academic journal on the theory of agency was published by me in Public Choice (Winter 1975).

I introduced the common logic of agency in institutional settings: Behavior never occurs as it is preferred by the principal because it does not pay to make it perfect. But society creates institutions that attend to these imperfections, managing or buffering them, adapting to them, or becoming chronically distorted by them. Using this general approach, as well as related arguments, explanations for a wide class of social behaviors may be developed.

For a description of the origin of agency theory, see this page:

Barry M. Mitnick, "Origin of the Theory of Agency: An Account by One of the Theory’s Originators" (Rev. January 2006).

Below are citations to my papers on agency, including in some cases short descriptions of their contents. Parts of some of the unpublished older papers are to be included in my book in progress, The Theory of Agency (Cambridge University Press).

Mitnick, B. M. 1973. Fiduciary rationality and public policy: The theory of agency and some consequences, Paper presented at the 1973 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association. Proceedings of the APSA, 1973 (University Microfilms). New Orleans, LA. This paper, presented at a major, well-attended panel of the APSA chaired by Prof. Douglas Rae of Yale, introduced the institutional theory of agency.

Mitnick, B. M. 1974. The theory of agency: The concept of fiduciary rationality and some consequences: Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Political Science, University of Pennsylvania.

Mitnick, B. M. 1974. A typology of goals for positive theories:  The theory of agency and the incentive systems approach to organizations. Paper presented at Professor Oliver Williamson's Organizations Workshop, Fels Center of Government, University of Pennsylvania (October 24, 1974). Revised from 1974 dissertation section.

Mitnick, B. M. 1975. The theory of agency: The fiduciary norm: Paper presented at the 1975 Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association, San Francisco, CA. Revised from 1974 dissertation section.

Mitnick, B. M. 1975. The theory of agency: The policing "paradox" and regulatory behavior. Public Choice, 24 (Winter): 27-42. This was the first article explicitly on the theory of agency to be published in a regular issue (i.e., non-proceedings issue) of an academic journal anywhere in the world. Revised and extended from 1974 dissertation section.

Mitnick, B. M. 1976. A typology of conceptions of the public interest. Administration and Society, 8(1) (May): 5-28.  Material included in chapter 4 of Mitnick, Political Economy of Regulation.

Mitnick, B. M. 1976. The theory of agency: A framework: Paper presented at the 1976 Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association, New York, NY. Revised from 1974 dissertation section.

Mitnick, B. M. 1980. Incentive systems in environmental regulation. Policy Studies Journal, 9(3): 379-394.

Mitnick, B. M. 1980. The political economy of regulation: Creating, designing, and removing regulatory forms. New York: Columbia University Press.

Mitnick, B. M. 1981/1993. Strategic risk reduction and the creation of agents in regulation. Paper presented at the 1981 Annual Meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, Cincinnati, Ohio. In Proceedings of the Midwest Political Science Association, 1981. Later version presented at the Fourth Annual Sunbelt Social Networks Conference, Phoenix, AZ, February 17-19, 1984.  Revised version accepted for publication in Academy of Management Review; acceptance withdrawn by a subsequent editor due solely to the passage of time.  Revision published as Mitnick, Strategic behavior and the creation of agents. In B. M. Mitnick (Ed.), Corporate political agency: The construction of competition in public affairs: 90-124. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications. This paper lays out a typology of reasons for the use of agents, with examples from regulation. After the paper was accepted and while spending a great deal of time reviewing dozens of manuscripts per year on the editorial board of AMR and for other journals, I saw a way to make the typology more systematic. I delayed the paper until I had worked it out to my satisfaction, but the then editor was unwilling to wait for the paper.

Mitnick, B. M. 1982. Regulation and the theory of agency. Policy Studies Review, 1(3) (February):  442-453.

Mitnick, B. M. 1982. Agents in the environment: Managing in boundary spanning roles. Paper presented at the 42nd Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, New York, NY.

Mitnick, B. M. 1982. The fiduciary relation in policy analysis. Paper presented at the Fourth Annual Research Conference of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management, Hyatt Regency Hotel, Minneapolis, MN (October 28-30).

Mitnick, B. M. 1983. Agents in analysis:  The advisory role in public affairs management. Paper presented at the 43rd Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Dallas, TX, August 14-17, 1983. Revision published in Mitnick, Corporate Political Agency.

Mitnick, B. M. 1984. Agency problems and political institutions: Paper presented at the 1984 Annual Meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, Palmer House, Chicago, IL, April 12-14. Revised version presented at the 1984 Annual Conference of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management, New Orleans, LA, October 18-20, 1984.

Mitnick, B. M., & Backoff, R. W. 1984. The incentive relation in implementation. In G. C. Edwards, III (Ed.), Public policy implementation, Vol. 3: 59-122. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.

Mitnick, B. M. 1984. The bureaucrat as agent: Paper presented at the 1984 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, Washington Hilton Hotel, Washington, DC, August 30-September 2. In Proceedings of the American Political Science Association, 1984

Mitnick, B. M. 1985. Agents of legitimacy: Pantheonic directorates and the management of organization environtments: Paper presented at the Fifth Annual Sunbelt Social Networks Conference, Palm Beach Hilton Hotel, Palm Beach, FL, February 14-17. Revised version presented at the 46th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Chicago, IL, August 13-16, 1986.

Mitnick, B. M. 1987. A typology of boundary agent roles. Katz Graduate School of Business Working Paper Series, WP-653 (University of Pittsburgh, July).

Mitnick, B. M. 1991. An incentive systems model of the regulatory environment. In M. J. Dubnick, & A. R. Gitelson (Eds.), Public policy and economic institutions, Vol. 10: 147-204. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.

Mitnick, B. M. 1992. The theory of agency and organizational analysis. In N. Bowie, & R. E. Freeman (Eds.), Ethics and agency theory: 75-96. New York: Oxford University Press.

Mitnick, B. M. 1993. Choosing principals: Paper presented at the 1993 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, Washington Hilton Hotel, Washington, DC.

Mitnick, B. M. (Ed.). 1993. Corporate political agency: The construction of competition in public affairs. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.

Mitnick, B. M. 1994. Delegation of specification: An agency theory of organizations: Paper presented at the 1994 Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Loews Anatole Hotel, Dallas, TX, August 14-17.

Mitnick, B. M. 1994. The hazards of agency. Paper presented at the 1994 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, New York, NY, September 1-4.

Mitnick, B. M. 1995. Systematics and CSR: The concept of normative referencing. Business & Society, 34(1): 5-33.

Mitnick, B. M. 1997. Agency theory. In P. Werhane, & R. E. Freeman (Eds.), The Blackwell Encyclopedic Dictionary of Business Ethics: 12-15. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishers.

Mitnick, B. M. 1998. The theory of testaments: Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, Boston, MA. September 5.

Mitnick, B. M. 1999. Credible testaments, property, and the role of government. In N. Mercuro, & W. J. Samuels (Eds.), The fundamental interrelationships between government and property, Vol. 4 in the series The economics of legal relationships: 165-176. Stamford, CT: JAI Press.

Mitnick, B. M., K. Verma, & A. Marcus. 1999. Making incentive systems work: Incentive regulation in the nuclear power industry," Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 9(3) (July): 395-436.

Mitnick, B. M. 2000. Commitment, Revelation, and the Testaments of Belief: The Metrics of Measurement of Corporate Social Performance. Business & Society, 39(4) (December): 419-465. This paper was presented at the 'Conversazione' on Business, Issues, and Society in the 21st Century, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, Iowa, June 3-4, 2000. It received the Best Article Award of the International Association for Business and Society in 2002.

Mitnick, B. M. 2000. Moral tethers. Paper presented in the Social Issues in Management Division, 2000 Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Toronto, Canada, August 6-9. This paper analyzes the agent's problem of action on behalf of the person of the principal vs. action serving the principal's goal.

Mitnick, B. M. 2000. The credible state. Paper presented at the 2000 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, Washington, DC, August 31-September 3. In Proceedings of the American Political Science Association, 2000.

Mitnick, B. M. 2005. Positive agency. in Robert Giacalone, Craig Dunn, and Carole L. Jurkiewicz, eds., Positive Psychology in Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility. Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing.