Research on information technology (IT) business value posit complex relationships from either a resource based view (RBV) or transaction cost economics (TCE) viewpoint. In contrast with the rich theoretical work, empirical studies have taken a ‘black box’ approach, testing relatively simple models. In this study, we integrate the theoretical and empirical work into a unified model of IT value.

Abstract This contribution commemorates Oliver Williamson, who recently passed away, as one of the founding fathers Transaction Cost Economics (TCE). It does so by touching on some details his personal life and connecting these with professional career. The latter was devoted to putting study institutions economic agenda. Closer scrutiny reveals that three phases may be identified. Williamson f...

This paper draws on Transaction Cost Economics (TCE) theory (Coase, 1937; Williamson, 1985, 1988, 1999) to examine hotel outsourcing. The study focuses on the uncertainty and frequency attributes, two of three activity attributes that TCE theorists see as affecting the propensity to outsource. Findings relating to the third TCE activity attribute, asset specificity, are reported in Lamminmaki (...

Transaction cost economics (TCE), as developed and operationalized by Oliver Williamson, is one of the most prominent and influential developments in the social sciences. In recent years, on the basis of many empirical studies, it has been claimed that the evidence has corroborated TCE. If so, this would have major implications for the debate between TCE and other approaches to understanding th...

This working paper provides a summary on transaction cost economics (TCE) and recent developments thereof. After an introductory discussion of TCE’s role within the field of New Institutional Economics, a critical analysis of the contribution of the existing body of empirical literature is conducted. In recent years, researchers have continued to develop and extend TCE. Williamson (1991b) intro...

This chapter addresses the relationship between a supplier and the manufacturers that it serves, from the perspective of transaction cost economics theory (TCE). TCE deals with relationships between organizations, such as customers, manufacturers and suppliers. It states that investment in transaction-specific assets opens the door for opportunistic behavior by an organization’s partners. Inter...

Purpose – Business process outsourcing (BPO) has become so prevalent that a new term, the extended enterprise, has arisen to describe this approach to structuring an organization. The purpose of this article is to integrate the information systems and the interfirm governance literatures to develop a framework for the role of trust in the governance of extended enterprises. Design/methodology/a...

Researchers criticize the transaction cost economics (TCE) paradigm for over-generalizing the assumption of opportunism as human nature. We suggest that opportunistic propensity is affected by cultural prior conditioning of individualism–collectivism (I–C). Specifically, we propose that individualists have a higher opportunistic propensity in intra-group transactions, and collectivists in inter...

The broad range of activities undertaken in a hotel, combined with its high labour intensity and volatile demand, signify a predisposition particularly suited to outsourcing. In this paper, transaction cost economics (TCE) theory, agency theory and the broader outsourcing literature are drawn upon to inform the distillation of 20 outsourcing / insourcing motives. The relative significance of th...

This paper connects theory of learning with theory of governance, in the context of inter-firm relations. It recognizes fundamental criticism of transaction cost economics (TCE), but preserves elements from that theory. The theory of governance used incorporates learning and trust. The paper identifies two kinds of relational risk: hold-up and spillover. For the governance of relations, i.e. th...