When is trust produced and when does it matter? Taking a closer look at trust and alliance performance

In response to intense competition in the environment and rapid technological shifts, firms have increasingly turned to alternative organizational forms such as strategic alliances. Though strategic alliances are considered to be an effective strategy that firms could use to leverage their existing skills and to cope with turbulent environments, only some alliances succeed. Alliances constitute a distinct organizational form in which previously independent firms allow themselves to become dependent on each other¿s actions to obtain mutual benefits. Owing to the complexities inherent in strategic alliances, extant research emphasizes that managing and consciously investing in relational aspects, such as trust, becomes equally germane to success as choosing the right partner and structuring these strategic alliances. However, several vexing issues remain; (1) precise generalizations are yet to be established on the determinants of alliance performance, (2) it is not clear when investing in interorganizational trust matters to alliance performance or (3) when it is cultivated in strategic alliances, (3) the severe consequences of trust violation notwithstanding, the efficient ways of restoring trust is yet to gain theoretical attention. This dissertation is a collection of studies that address these vexing issues using firm theoretical reasoning and sound methodological tools.