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Determinants of Inter-Firm Contractual Relations: A Case of Indian Software Industry

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Author Info
Francis Xavier Rathinam

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Abstract

The impediments to inter-firm contractual relations, the existing formal and informal ways of getting around them and the role of reputation and trust in mitigating conflict of interest between firms in the context of Indian IT industry is analyzed in this paper. Contract design is specified as a function of reputation (age, repeated contracts and quality certification), asset specificity, complexity and uncertainty. We test the likelihood of observing Time and Material contract, a better propertied contract in the face of uncertainty. Empirical evidence confirms the propositions posited. Reputed firms tend to get highly complicated and uncertain projects. Asset specific investments do not seem to have any implication on contract type and complexity. The results broadly hint that the firms reckon more on creating understanding through formal quality certifications to solve pre-contractual adverse selection problems and repeated contracting to solve the problems of behavioral uncertainties rather than relying on a court of law.

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Publisher Info
Article provided by Icfai Press in its journal The Icfai University Journal of Financial Economics.

Volume (Year): VI (2008)
Issue (Month): 4 (December)
Pages: 73-85
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Handle: RePEc:icf:icfjfe:v:06:y:2008:i:4:p:73-85

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Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Kirk Monteverde & David J. Teece, 1982. "Supplier Switching Costs and Vertical Integration in the Automobile Industry," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 13(1), pages 206-213, Spring. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Ashish Arora & Jai Asundi, 1999. "Quality Certification and the Economics of Contract Software Development A Study of the Indian Software Industry," NBER Working Papers 7260, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Klein, Benjamin, 1988. "Vertical Integration as Organizational Ownership: The Fisher Body-General Motors Relationship Revisited," Journal of Law, Economics and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 4(1), pages 199-213, Spring.
  4. Klein, Benjamin & Crawford, Robert G & Alchian, Armen A, 1978. "Vertical Integration, Appropriable Rents, and the Competitive Contracting Process," Journal of Law & Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 21(2), pages 297-326, October.
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