There is a tendency to see trust and control by formal agreements as substitutes. According to transaction cost economics trust is unreliable, and some form of control is needed to reduce hazards of opportunism. According to others, high trust allows for a limited extent of formal control....

This paper connects theory of learning with theory of governance, in the context of inter-firm relations. It recognizes fundamental criticism of transaction cost economics (TCE), but preserves elements from that theory. The theory of governance used incorporates learning and trust. The paper...

This article connects theory of learning with theory of governance, in the context of inter-firm relations. It recognizes fundamental criticism of transaction cost economics (TCE), but preserves elements from that theory. Two kinds of relational risk are identified: hold-up and spillover risk....

This paper analyzes the relations between social capital, institutions and trust.These concepts are full of ambiguity and confusion.This paper attempts to dissolve some of the confusion, by distinguishing trust and control, and analyzing institutional and relational conditions of trust.It...

Recent insights from the ‘embodied cognition’ perspective in cognitive science, supported by neural research, provide a basis for a ‘methodological interactionism’ that transcends both the methodological individualism of economics and the methodological collectivism of (some) sociology,...

This chapter reviews some key points in the analysis of trust, based on Nooteboom (2002)i.The following questions are addressed.What can we have trust in?What is the relation between trust and control?What are the sources of trust? And what are its limits?By what process is trust built up and...

Trust is full of puzzle and paradox.Trust is both rational and emotional. Trust can go beyond calculative self-interest, but has its limits.People may want to trust, while they may also feel threatened by it.If trust is not in place prior to a relationship, on the basis of institutions, prior...

This chapter pleads for more inspiration from human nature, in agent-based modeling.As an illustration of an effort in that direction, it summarizes and discusses an agentbased model of the build-up and adaptation of trust between multiple producers and suppliers.The central question is whether,...

In contrast to, for example, books and compact discs, the number of complex services offered on the Internet is still small. A good example of such a service concerns mortgage loans. The decision-making process differs for complex services in that they have an extra intermediate step of...

In this article, we discuss the evolution of trust, distrust, and formal coordination and control in interorganizational relationships. We suggest that the degrees to which managers trust and distrust their partners during initial stages of cooperation leave strong imprints on the development of...