What Drives Fraud in a Credence Goods Market? – Evidence from a Field Study
Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics
Published online on September 12, 2017
Abstract
This paper investigates the impact of competition on an expert firm's incentive to defraud its customers in a credence goods market. Controlling for the competence of car repair shops, their financial situation, and reputational concerns, we use and complement the data set from a nationwide field study conducted by the German Automobile Association that regularly checks the reliability of garages in Germany. We find that more intense competition lowers a firm's incentive to defraud its customers.