Consummate cooperation in the network-firm: Theoretical insights and empirical findings

SummaryThe institutional and industrial evolution of the 1980s and 1990s considerably transformed the governance structures of production through globalization, financialization and the accentuation of competitive pressures. The governance structures of inter-firm relationships have changed greatly; the modern firm is now based on cooperative vertical network organizations of production. The aim of the paper is to investigate theoretically and empirically the specificities of the inter-firm relationships that create the strong consummate cooperation that characterizes what we call the network-firm. We run an empirical study using a very large database on French inter-firm relationships, and our theoretical hypotheses that balanced inter-firm power, inter-firm relational capital and complementary organizational capabilities explain the consummate cooperation that characterizes the network-firm are confirmed.