Relying on Trust in Cooperative Inter-Organizational Relationships

Abstract

This chapter responds to an invitation from the Handbook editors, Aks Zaheer and Reinhard Bachmann. More specifically, we were asked to reflect on our companion papers dealing with the structuring and developmental processes of cooperative inter-organizational relationships (Ring and Van de Ven 1992; 1994). We summarize the prominent role that reliance on trust played in our initial framework, review the subsequent literature that has cited our papers, and then propose an agenda for research and policy that is undertaken to advance the scholarship and practice of relying on trust in managing cooperative inter-organizational relationships.