Using concepts of neoinstitutional economics, such as transaction cost economics, institutional economics, property rights theory, and information economics, the development of the Open Source movement is investigated. Following the evolution of institutions in Open Source, it is discussed what the comparative institutional advantages of this model are. The conclusion is that it is the institut...

Outsourcing generally involves non-strategic resources and/or non-asset specific capabilities. However, in this paper, the authors examine the non-traditional, but increasingly more common, use of IT to facilitate theoretically inconsistent outsourcing decisions involving core resources and capabilities. The authors reconcile theory with practice by developing propositions to explain how IT can...

The duration of a supply relationship depends on two types of costs: (i) the transaction cost of switching suppliers and (ii) the cost of being matched to an inefficient supplier when the relationship lasts too long. I develop a model of optimal contract duration that captures this tradeoff, and I provide conditions that identify the underlying cost structure. Latent transaction costs are ident...

This theoretical paper examines the transaction cost framework as described by its main proponent in the context of the popular recorded music industry. We take the two firm typologies within the industry, major and independent, and discuss whether TCE variables can identify suitable governance structures for managing the transactions between them. We argue that asset idiosyncrasies such as cul...

Inspired by facts from the private-sector construction industry, we develop a model that explains many stylized facts of procurement contracts. The buyer in our model incurs a cost of providing a comprehensive design and is faced with a tradeoff between providing incentives and reducing ex post transaction costs due to costly renegotiation. We show that cost-plus contracts are preferred to fixe...

This article discusses government regulation and the consequent compliance costs for the private sector from the perspective of transaction cost economics. In many cases, government regulation is shaped as legally binding standards. In order to comply with these standards, private sector firms meet various types of transaction costs, such as the bonding costs that the principal/agent relationsh...

Transaction cost economics argues that aligning transactions with governance structures leads to more efficient outcomes. While empirical evidence demonstrates that firms choose governance consistent with transaction cost predictions, the performance implications of governance choices are less well explored. Here I examine the cost of misaligned governance in the context of research and develop...