The activities of the Crown Agents over the period 1920 to 1974 can perhaps be best understood in the context of principal-agent theory, which suggests that agents possess a number of interests. Their official goal is the completion of the task for which they are retained; in the case of a builder employed to construct a garage, for example, the completion of the building. Agents with more than one principal, however, may have a number of such interests that contradict each other; the builder may be employed by two people, one of whom wants a cheaply built garage and one who would prefer a building constructed to the highest specification. As well as these official goals, agents also have unofficial interests, generally the survival and growth of their businesses, which may be incompatible with their official objectives or the general interests of their principal; the pursuit of such interests being termed moral hazard. Our builder, for instance, may want to rapidly expand his business, and, to achieve this aim, he may use substandard materials or overcharge his customers. At the same time, the staff who work for agents have their own personal interests, the fulfillment of which may be detrimental to their employer and his clients. The labourers engaged by our builder, for example, may fail to complete a full day's work or pilfer building materials.

All of the participants in the development of the colonies had official, unofficial and staff interests.