ABSTRACT Purpose: This study examines the influence that tie strength has on contractual relationships between exchange parties with specific investments and also explores the role of network intensity in contractual relationships between buyers and suppliers. We hypothesize that the relationship between transaction-specific investments (TSIs) and contracts is moderated by network intensity. Methodology: An empirical test is carried out by analyzing buyer–supplier relationships of manufacturing companies. The construct measures were based on those obtained from prior research, and the reliability and validity were established using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. The overall measurement model was then assessed with structural equation modeling using AMOS. Findings: We focus primarily on contract variables as a governance mechanism that can be affected by the strength of ties among firms and the results of our empirical study indicate that supplier TSIs improve the use of informal contracts while the use of formal contracts undermines the effect on supplier TSIs. In addition, we found that firms with weak ties with their partners in the network are more likely to use both formal and informal contracts than those with strong ties. Contribution: Our study has several contributions. First, our research improves the understanding of the relationship between TSIs and the choice of contracts as a governance mechanism, especially for mutual TSIs. Second, our research improves our understanding of the network strength in the context of business-to-business relationships extending the understanding of the relationship intensity among firms in a network. Third, we focused on the effects of network intensity on contractual relationships.

中文翻译：

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相互TSI与公司间合同之间的关系：强关系的调节作用

摘要目的：本研究探讨了联系强度对具有特定投资的交易双方之间合同关系的影响，并探讨了网络强度在买卖双方之间合同关系中的作用。我们假设特定于交易的投资（TSI）与合同之间的关系受网络强度的调节。方法：通过分析制造公司的买方与供应商之间的关系进行了实证检验。构建方法是基于先前研究得出的方法，并使用探索性和验证性因素分析确定了信度和效度。然后，使用AMOS通过结构方程模型评估整体测量模型。发现：我们主要关注合同变量，这是一种受公司之间联系强度影响的治理机制，我们的实证研究结果表明，供应商TSI改善了非正式合同的使用，而正式合同的使用却削弱了对供应商TSI的影响。 。此外，我们发现与网络中的合作伙伴关系较弱的公司比关系密切的公司更可能使用正式和非正式合同。贡献：我们的研究有几个贡献。首先，我们的研究提高了对TSI之间的关系以及作为治理机制的合同选择的理解，特别是对于相互的TSI。第二，我们的研究提高了我们在企业对企业关系的背景下对网络强度的理解，扩展了对网络中企业之间关系强度的理解。第三，我们关注网络强度对合同关系的影响。