Interorganizational Trust and Technology Complexity: Evidence for New Technology‐Based Firms

Abstract

Integrating the transaction cost economics and relational perspectives, this paper puts forward that technology complexity within new technology‐based firms negatively influences the level of interorganizational trust in key partner relationships. Using a data set of 105 key partner relationships of 59 new technology‐based firms, we find that the new technology‐based firm's level of trust in its key partners is lower when the level of technology complexity is high. Findings further show that both relationship and partner characteristics moderate the technology complexity—trust relationship. These results show that technology complexity as an appropriability mechanism becomes endogenous to collaboration, thereby extending the Teece framework.

Acknowledgment

The financial support of the Intercollegiate Center for Management Science (ICM) is gratefully acknowledged.

Notes

1 The authors would like to thank the anonymous referee for pointing this out.

2 These results are not reported here due to space limitations, but are readily available from the authors.

3 We thank an anonymous reviewer for this suggestion.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Johan Bruneel

Johan Bruneel is associate professor of Entrepreneurship at the department of Managerial Economics, Strategy, and Innovation at KU Leuven and senior researcher of the Department of Management, Technology, and Economics at ETH Zurich.,

André Spithoven

André Spithoven is senior researcher at BELSPO and senior researcher of the Department of Managerial Economics, Strategy, and Innovation at KU Leuven. He is also Visiting Professor at Ghent University.,

Bart Clarysse

Bart Clarysse holds the Chair of Entrepreneurship in the Department of Management Technology and Economics at ETH Zurich. He is also Visiting Professor at Ghent University.,