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... > social science subjects > psychology > social psychology > group dynamics > group influence > power (sociology) > power and institutional issues > principal-agent relationship
... > social science subjects > psychology > social psychology > group dynamics > group influence > power (sociology) > power and methodological issues > principal-agent relationship
... > social science subjects > psychology > social psychology > group dynamics > group influence > power (sociology) > power and political science > principal-agent relationship

Preferred term

principal-agent relationship  

Definition

  • The principal-agent model represents situations in which a supervisor (principal) delegates a task to a supervisee (agent) who has specialized knowledge about the task but also has objectives that are different from those of the principal. This is what occurs, for example, between an employer and an employee, between legislators and bureaucrats, between regulators and regulated firms, between voters and public officials in a representative democracy, and between managers and stockholders. [Source: Encyclopedia of Power; Principal-Agent Relationship]

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https://concepts.sagepub.com/social-science/concept/principal-agent_relationship

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