Safeguarding proprietary information in the supply chain and relationship‐specific investments
研究了供应链中专有信息泄露风险如何影响合作伙伴的关系专用性投资决策，发现法院采纳不可避免披露原则能促进客户增加投资，尤其对信息风险高、供应商难替代的情况更显著。
Abstract We examine whether the risk of losing proprietary information through the supply chain affects relationship‐specific investment (RSI) decisions by supply chain partners. Using state courts' staggered adoption of the Inevitable Disclosure Doctrine (IDD) as a shock to the firm's ability to protect proprietary information, we find that customers increase RSI when their supplier is headquartered in a state that adopts IDD. The effect is more substantial for customers who face a higher risk of losing proprietary information and with suppliers that are difficult to substitute. IDD also plays a more prominent role in the absence of alternate mechanisms that reduce contracting frictions, such as shared directors, common ownership, or joint ventures. Our results are robust to using cross‐citation measures of RSI and alternative estimations that mitigate potential biases arising from the staggered difference‐in‐difference approach. Our findings suggest that proprietary information protection enables firms to reduce contracting frictions arising in supply chain relations.