Prior research has shown that trust has a positive effect on the economic welfare of nations. We investigate this result by analyzing the effect of endowed trust on agency problems within organizations. We find that firms located in U.S. counties where trust is more prevalent suffer less from...

We study how informal buyer-supplier relationships in the German automotive industry affect procurement. Using unique data from a survey focusing on these, we show that more trust, the belief that the trading partner acts to maintain the mutual relationship, is associated with both higher...

Trust between parties should drive the negotiation and design of contract: if parties did not trust each others' reaction to unplanned events, they might agree to pay higher costs of negotiation to complete contracts. Using a unique sample of U.S. principal-agent consulting contracts and a...

A transaction involving a buyer and a competitive seller is studied under the hypothesis that individuals may have a certain tendency to keep promises. The parties can choose a complete contract where costly arrangements are made so that it is verifiable whether the seller has delivered a...

The need for individuals to be able to trust that promises will be performed is central to justifying a law that renders certain promises enforceable. This Article argues that the legal enforcement of certain promises to meet this need does not necessarily diminish the personal relationships of...