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A theory of trust failure and vertical integration in industrial districts

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  • Guido Merzoni

Abstract

We model the interaction of independent firms within an industrial district as a repeated game of trust, where cooperative outcomes are not due to the cultural attitudes of the players, but the result of non-cooperative behaviour taking place in a stable organizational setting. When the outside option of changing partners is not too attractive, cooperation may arise also without ties between firms; when such attractiveness increases, cooperation may only be guaranteed by making the relationship more stable through a formal commitment, which may lead to a fullyfledged vertical integration. As the efficiency gains of changing partners becomes even larger, stable relationships are no longer optimal and the traditional model of industrial districts breaks down.

Suggested Citation

  • Guido Merzoni, 2010. "A theory of trust failure and vertical integration in industrial districts," DISEIS - Quaderni del Dipartimento di Economia internazionale, delle istituzioni e dello sviluppo dis1001, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Dipartimento di Economia internazionale, delle istituzioni e dello sviluppo (DISEIS).
    • Handle: RePEc:dis:wpaper:dis1001
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    File URL: http://dipartimenti.unicatt.it/economia_internazionale_istituzioni_sviluppo_1001.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    trust relationships; industrial districts; vertical integration;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L14 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Transactional Relationships; Contracts and Reputation
    • L23 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Organization of Production
    • C72 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - Noncooperative Games

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