| This dissertation consists of a brief introduction, two essays and conclusion. The two essays that constitute the core of the dissertation are: (1) “The Role of Inter-Organizational Trust and Dependence Structures in Explaining the Willingness to Invest in Ongoing Buyer-Seller Relationships.” (2) “The Role of Intra-Organizational Alignment with Relationship Paradigm in Explaining the Success of Buyer-Seller Relationships.”; Each essay is written such that it can be read separately. The first essay examines the relational antecedents of firms' willingness to make transaction specific investments in ongoing buyer-seller relationships. In the first essay, we propose that the extant state of social and economic nature of relationships will determine firms' willingness to make transaction specific investments in ongoing relationships. Drawing from theories in social exchange, resource dependence, transaction cost analysis and inter-organizational relationships, we develop a model of causal relationship between three key relationship variables (trust, total interdependence, and relative dependence) and a partner's decision to make relationship-specific investment in E-business. Using data from experimental study, we establish that trust and relative dependence causally influence a firm's willingness to make TSI. We also establish that trust matters more when firms are relatively less dependent on their partners than when their dependence relative to their partners is more. In a follow-up study, using 68 subjects, we find trust to be a mediator in the relationship between total interdependence and a partner's willingness to make TSI.; In the second essay, we look within the organization to explain the success of inter-organizational relationships. In this essay, we empirically test a model of organizational alignment with relationship paradigm using survey data collected from a sample of 88 purchase professionals. We also provide insights about how these internal factors impact on the external relationship performance. The broad findings from our study suggest that individual managers' alignment with relationship paradigm and internal coordination lead to positive relational behaviors in external relationships. These positive behaviors in turn lead to better performance in inter-organizational relationships. The results also clearly establish the positive influence of performance in inter-organizational relationships on a business unit's bottom line. |
