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This study aims to investigate how contract complexity and relational trust could impact offshore outsourcing innovation (OOI) performance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This study further examines the moderating effects of knowledge routines and joint actions on the relationships between contract complexity, as well as relational trust and OOI performance.

The empirical investigation extends transaction cost economics and the relational view of buyer-supplier dyads in the context of offshore outsourcing SMEs. To test the hypotheses, the authors collected and analysed survey data from 200 European manufacturing SMEs that have existing offshore supplier relationships.

The results suggest that both complex contracts and relational trust as governance structures positively affect SMEs’ OOI performance. Additionally, while both formal knowledge routines and joint actions help strengthen the relationship between complex contracts and OOI, they showed no significant moderating effect on the relationship between relational trust and OOI. Furthermore, based on the results, the authors also develop a governance framework covering four configurations – fit, firm, flexible and fragile (4F).

The 4F governance scenarios – fit, firm, flexible and fragile – introduced in this study emphasise the need for a combination of contract complexity and relational trust mechanisms in OOI relationships. The 4F labelling has rich implications for practitioners on how interfirm outsourcing innovation relationships can be managed based on configurations of contractual and relational governance. The study also adds to the understanding of how SMEs’ specific characteristics (e.g. resource shortcomings and flexibility) may influence their OOI decisions in comparison with large firms.

The goal of this research is to establish which contextual factors influence the selection of relational governance instruments in supply chains (SCs) and how these factors impact the expected performance.

A systematic literature review (SLR) identified 103 conceptual, empirical and analytical studies between 2007 and 2017.

A conceptual framework is developed from the categorization of contextual factors, relational governance instruments and expected SC performance. The conceptual framework provides three propositions: (1) The choice for relational governance instrument is influenced differently by the contextual factors; (2) the impact that the contextual factors have on the governance instruments and SC performance is mediated by trust; (3) The SC performance is affected differently by the instruments of flexibility, solidarity and information sharing.

The findings of this research can help business managers better govern and know the contextual factors and use different relational governance instruments and trust dimensions to drive the expected results of the SC.

The synthesis reveals contingencies of relational governance instruments in SCs for performance expected in different contexts and proposes a standpoint for further research in the area.

Drawing on similarity-attraction hypothesis and generational gap literatures, this study aims to examine the impact of age difference in a leader–member dyad on leader–member exchange (LMX). The study hypothesized that relational age would impact the subordinates-reported LMX. However, given that leaders have structural power over subordinates and hence have mechanisms of interaction available to them, the age difference might not determine their perception of quality of LMX. The study also hypothesized that generation gap in values and beliefs leads to lack of trust, on the part of subordinates, which in turn might be the reason for poor quality of LMX.

A total of 200 leader–member dyads from five organizations in the National Capital Region of India were used in this study. Data were collected via separate structured questionnaires for leaders and members, which comprised of standard scales of LMX and perceived trust, and demographics.

Hypotheses received substantial support from the data with a few exceptions. Only the loyalty dimension of perceived trust mediates the relationship between relational age and member perception of LMX.

Results have implications for relational age and LMX interventions. However, the results are to be viewed in the light of members’ perspective. While this is a common practice in LMX research, it would be interesting to explore leaders’ trust and psychological reactions as well, for additional insights into leadership practice.

Limited work has been done to explore the impact of relational age on LMX, that too mediated by trust. An attempt has been made in this study to do so via leader–member dyads.

This paper aims to examine the impact of trust, norm of information sharing, and vertical control on relational ties in new product development (NPD) relationships.

Survey research was conducted to collect data from 112 NPD relationships and structural equation modeling was conducted to test the hypotheses.

The results suggest that trust and norms of information sharing are positively related to relational ties, while vertical control and relational ties are negatively related. Three independent variables (i.e. trust, norm of information sharing, and vertical control) could significantly predict relational ties. It was also found that there are threshold effects for independent variables as they influence relational ties.

The study enhances the understanding of NPD relationships by examining the key modes of governance through which relational ties are influenced.

The present study aims to examine the impact of relational communication, operationalized in terms of information sharing, quality and frequency of information, on buyer's trust and relationship satisfaction in a buyer–vendor relationship. The study also tests the mediating role of trust and the moderating role of relationship commitment in relational communication and satisfaction relationship.

The data for the study were collected through a questionnaire survey from 321 managers of the different firms who were directly or indirectly involved in making procurement or purchasing decision in the firm and were familiar with the firm's supplier relationships.

Relational communication was found to be positively related to relational satisfaction and trust partially mediated this relationship. Further, relationship commitment moderated relational communication-satisfaction relationship, such that the positive affect of relational communication on relational satisfaction was accentuated when buyer experienced higher relationship commitment towards the supplier.

Using single source, self-reported questionnaire data and cross-sectional research design are the limitations of this study. Studies in future should consider a dyadic perspective. The study outlines the need to explore investments and strategies in enhancing relational communication in buyer–vendor relationships.

Anchored in theoretical foundations of social exchange theory, the study integrates and tests behavioral aspects of buyer–vendor relationship. Testing an integrated model with direct and indirect effects of relational communication on relationship satisfaction in buyer–vendor is a significant contribution of the research. The study also contributes by examining relational exchanges in buyer-vendor relationships in India, an underrepresented context in buyer–supplier relationship (BSR) literature.

This paper aims to clarify ambiguous results from previous research on the relationship between contextual factors, trust and supply chain governance (SCG).

This study carried out a systematic literature review in 11 databases, with articles published until 2018. Afterward, this study conducted a thematic analysis in 60 articles to address the contextual factors, governance structures and trust approaches raised in previous research.

The thematic analysis revealed that seven contextual factors influence the choice of contractual and relational mechanisms in supply chains: relationship history, environmental uncertainty, perceived risk, perceived justice, asset specificity, power asymmetry and interdependence. The findings explained the ambiguous results of past research by proposing that contractual and relational governance are complementary and that the presence of trust (affective and competence-based) moderates the relationship between contextual factors and SCG.

This research advances the SCG literature by proposing trust (affective and competence-based) as a moderating variable that fosters governance mechanisms in supply chain relationships.

This paper aims to explore the relationship between the embeddedness of relational behaviours in contractual relations and the development of inter-organisational trust between contracting parties in construction projects.

A questionnaire survey was undertaken to collect data from 310 experienced project practitioners. Hierarchical regression and curvilinear regression were mainly used to test the hypotheses.

The results validated the role of relational behaviours in boosting trust expectation, with the contractual context dampening the positive effect only slightly. However, the impact of the embedded relational behaviours on trust intention was found contingent on the equality of outcome: relational behaviours make an impact on trust intention opposite to what the equality of outcome makes; the combination of relational behaviours and the equality of outcome finally has a positive impact on trust intention. As such, the relational behaviours embedded in contractual relations would help reduce particular distrust or improve trust when the outcome is perceived equal.

The conclusions are derived from the Chinese cultural background and may apply to a certain geographical scope. The nonprobability sampling method also limits the generalization of some conclusions. Besides, the results may present the contractor's view better than the owner's view.

This research would help the practitioners to find a balance between relational behaviours and contractual behaviours in managing inter-organisational relationship. It would also supply effective ways for contracting parties to reduce particular distrust or cultivate particular trust in construction projects.

Previous studies have investigated the unique impact of relational behaviours and contractual behaviours on trust. However, few of them have checked how the mixture of both kinds of behaviours influences trust. This paper contributes to this knowledge by investigating how the embeddedness of relational behaviours in contractual relations influences the trust between contracting parties.

Buyers and suppliers often perceive relationship governance mechanisms, such as trust and contractual fairness, in different ways. These differences in perception create an extra layer of complexity that is often ignored in the extant literature. This study adds to the understanding of how perceived asymmetries in trust and contractual fairness, two key relationship governance mechanisms, impact relational rents. This study also analyzes how boundary spanners aid managers to deal with these perceived asymmetries.

Based on survey data of 103 buyer–supplier dyads from a single global manufacturer of industrial equipment, the authors test hypotheses of perceived asymmetries in trust and contractual fairness, as well as the moderating effect of boundary spanners, on relational rents.

This research challenges the belief that asymmetries negatively impact or lead to unstable buyer–supplier relationships. Furthermore, it explains how preferential treatment and length of the relationship could reduce the impact of asymmetric perceptions.

This study stresses that open communication, which considers different viewpoints, helps to overcome the negative differences in attitude and perception. In addition, the authors found that long-term relationships seem to be far more resilient in dealing with asymmetries and that preferential treatments are best applied in (approximately) symmetric relationships in terms of contractual fairness.

While studies on buyer–supplier relationships often assume symmetric perceptions of governance mechanisms, asymmetric perceptions are far more prominent in reality. This study aims to improve one’s understanding of the impact of these asymmetries as well as how boundary spanners can affect these perceptions.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of mediated power asymmetry on relational risk perception and modes of governance mechanism (intention‐based trust and unilateral control).

Survey research was conducted to collect data from 112 new product development (NPD) relationships and structural equation modeling was conducted to test the hypotheses.

The results suggest that benefiting from mediated power asymmetries by a firm is positively related to the relational risk perceived by its partner firm. This perception influences intention‐based trust to partner firm negatively and exercising of unilateral control positively. It was also found that the relationship between mediated power asymmetry and governance modes is mediated by relational risk perception.

This paper enhances the understanding of NPD relationships by examining the key mechanisms through which governance decision modes are influenced. In particular, the paper shows how mediated power asymmetries through affecting relational risk perception influence two governance modes including intention‐based trust and unilateral control.

This paper aims to reveal the role of conflict management in the process of trust development. Specifically, this study investigates how the salience of conflict varies with different conflict-handling behaviors and behavioral outcomes and how the variation of the salience of conflict influences the trust development between contracting parties.

A questionnaire survey was undertaken to collect data from 310 experienced project practitioners. Hierarchical regression analysis and bootstrapping with a structural equation model were mainly used to test the hypotheses.

This paper finds that the relational degree of conflict handling behaviors can influence the salience of conflict and furthermore to influence trust between contracting parties, with this relationship mediated by the behavioral outcomes; however, all these relationships are contingent on the stage where relational conflict handling behaviors are adopted and the specific type of outcomes the behaviors result in.

This study provides some specific directions for the practitioners to conduct relational conflict handling behaviors and generate positive outcomes to keep trust developing between contracting parties in conflictual situations.

This study contributes to the knowledge of inter-organizational trust development as well as conflict management, by investigating the relationship between conflict and trust in a direction, which is less examined and revealing the process of conflict management, where the conflict handling behaviors influence behavioral outcomes to further manage conflict, in trust development.