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Relational Contracting in Developed Economies: Lessons From Slot Exchanges in the US Airline Industry

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  • Ricard Gil
  • Myongjin Kim
  • Giorgio Zanarone

Abstract

This paper highlights the widespread use of relational contracting in developed economies. While the number of empirical studies on relational practices in developing countries is increasing rapidly, evidence from industries and countries characterised by strong institutions is lagging behind due to data constraints. We argue that technological progress and strong institutions do not diminish the use of relational contracting, and use the US airline industry as a case in point. In particular, we discuss a number of factors (including transaction complexity, existence of collaborative relationships and data availability) that make this industry an ideal setting to study relational contracting in a developed economy. Moreover, we argue that other industries in developed countries share the properties of the US airline industry and, hence, can be used as a basis to investigate relational contracting in future work.

Suggested Citation

  • Ricard Gil & Myongjin Kim & Giorgio Zanarone, 2019. "Relational Contracting in Developed Economies: Lessons From Slot Exchanges in the US Airline Industry," The Japanese Economic Review, Japanese Economic Association, vol. 70(3), pages 411-421, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jecrev:v:70:y:2019:i:3:p:411-421
    DOI: 10.1111/jere.12243
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    Cited by:

    1. Ricard Gil & Myongjin Kim & Giorgio Zanarone, 2022. "Relationships Under Stress: Relational Outsourcing in the U.S. Airline Industry After the 2008 Financial Crisis," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 68(2), pages 1256-1277, February.
    2. Francis,David C. & Karalashvili,Nona & Murrell,Peter, 2022. "Transactional Governance Structures : New Cross-Country Data and an Application tothe Effect of Uncertainty," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10118, The World Bank.
    3. Liu, Dan & Meagher, Kieron J. & Wait, Andrew, 2022. "Market conditions and firm morality: Employee trust in the honesty of their managers," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 204(C), pages 89-106.

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