The Blockchain-trust nexus: A new era for inter-organizational trust meaning and formation
Maksym Koghut, Omar Al‐Tabbaa, Martin S. Meyer · Academy of Management Proceedings · 2019
While contracts and trust are critical elements in managing inter-organizational collaborations, the relationship nature between the two is debatable. However, pertaining literature suggests that this controversy can be explained by considering the actual contract execution; how contracts and trust are developed and utilized in a relationship. Therefore, in this research we propose that the emerging blockchain technology, by enabling automatic contract execution through so called smart contracts, has the potential to transform trust formation mechanism in inter-organizational tie. Specifically, by drawing on extant literature and present use cases, we theorize how the implementation of smart contracts by organizations can trigger different kinds of trust dynamics. We develop a model that explains the nexus between smart contracts and inter-organizational trust, and postulates conditions that moderate this nexus. To stimulate future research, we propose new conceptualizations of the blockchain-trust nexus, and elaborate on its normative implications.