informationplays

Informationplays are deliberate actions taken within a strategic interaction to shape the information available to other agents, affecting beliefs, expectations, and decisions. They can involve revealing signals, concealing signals, signaling intentions, or manipulating the perceived credibility of information sources. They occur in contexts with incomplete information, such as negotiations, markets, politics, or cybersecurity.

The mechanisms of informationplays include truthful disclosure to gain trust (cheap talk) or deliberate misrepresentation to deceive. Participants may use signals, performance indicators, disclosure timing, or third-party endorsements to influence others’ beliefs. The effectiveness of informationplays depends on credibility, monitoring, priors, and the structure of the information environment. In repeated interactions, reputational effects and equilibrium concepts like signaling and screening help determine outcomes.

Applications of informationplays span multiple domains. In business, they influence contract design, pricing, and competitive strategy. In diplomacy and politics, they affect negotiations and alliance dynamics. In technology and data governance, informationplays relate to disclosure policies, transparency, and data minimization. Ethical considerations include the potential for manipulation and harms from misinformation, as well as questions about transparency vs. strategic opacity. The term is used descriptively in some analyses but is not a formal standard term in most disciplines, and its interpretation can vary across contexts.