Deals that start when you sign them

Abstract

This essay explores six sentences from Oliver Williamson - five providing context and the sixth the central topic. Decades ago, Williamson asserted that: (a) 'substantially the same factors' (1973: 316) create governance issues not only within organizations but also in interactions between organizations; and (b) relational contracting might be useful in addressing these issues in both domains (1979, Figure II). More recently - in an informal conversation in 2002 - he suggested a perspective on relational contracting that appears valuable in both of these domains: relational contracts as 'deals that start when you sign them'. The bulk of this essay explores past, present, and potential research on this perspective.