All economic action is embedded in social contexts (Granovetter 1985). However, contingent work practices make work relations more episodic, transient and marketlike. They produce dislocated and time-space spanning social contexts and, therefore, contribute to what Giddens (1990) has called the...

All economic action is embedded in social contexts (Granovetter 1985). However, contingent work practices make work relations more episodic, transient and marketlike. They produce dislocated and time-space spanning social contexts and, therefore, contribute to what Giddens (1990) has called the...

We suggest that a customer's option to switch suppliers, and to wait and see before switching, adds to customer value in uncertain markets, and affects the customer's switching behavior. We use a real options model to examine the value of this option and conduct sensitivity analyses based on...