Towards a Cross-Disciplinary and Contextual Contract Theory

Abstract

The paper proposes a method for introducing ‘context’ within the contractual environment based on a simple application of intuitive control theory. A market-based contractual space is framed within the larger formal institutional space and an even larger cultural space – the spaces together forming a contextual environment. Each space is characterized by a governing law built on a selection of control mechanisms that differ in their approach as well as their reliance on information from feedback. I suggest how these governing laws tie together the contextual spaces and present some ideas on how they might evolve over time through interaction with other spaces.