Does formal contracting foster cooperation in a buyer–supplier relationship? In line with the literature, we find that a renegotiable contract with relationship-specific joint investments does not make it possible to reach the first-best. However, we show that a renegotiable contract may...

Does formal contracting foster cooperation in a buyer-supplier relationship? In line with the literature, we find that a renegotiable contract with relationship-specific joint investments does not make it possible to reach the first-best. However, we show that a renegotiable contract may induce...

Based on differences in production costs, McLaren (1999) [“Supplier relations and the market context: a theory of handshakes”, Journal of International Economics 48, 121-138] demonstrates that informal ‘handshake’ arrangements foster cooperation in buyer-supplier relationships, compared...