The Roles of Competence Trust, Formal Contract, and Time Horizon in Interorganizational Learning
研究了能力信任和正式合同对组织间两种学习（知识获取与知识接触）的不同作用，以及关系时间跨度如何调节这些作用，基于香港玩具贸易商与其供应商的126对样本。
This study examines the roles of competence trust, formal contract, and time horizon on interorganizational learning. Two types of learning — knowledge accessing and knowledge acquisition — are first identified. I then evaluate the relative roles of competence trust and contract on these two types of learning. I further investigate how time horizon moderates their roles. The hypotheses are tested with a sample of 126 buyer—supplier relationships between the Hong Kong toy traders and their suppliers. The results show that knowledge accessing and knowledge acquisition have very different requirements on the competence trust and contract of an exchange relationship. These requirements also change with the time horizon of the relationship.