Publication Type

Journal Article

Version

submittedVersion

Publication Date

2-2021

Abstract

Transaction cost theory (TCT) has been fruitfully applied to a wide range of organizational phenomena, as reflected in a vast and evolving body of research. However, in part due to the theory’s broad success, important advances in some fields do not diffuse to other fields. In this essay, we lay out a path toward a pluralistic view of TCT that incorporates insights from multiple fields, primarily strategy and international business. In so doing, we critically assess the assumptions, key constructs, and evolving theoretical logic of TCT. We then propose an agenda for future research, highlighting opportunities for scholars to (1) expand and deepen the exchange of insights between strategy and international business, and further integrate TCT with the trust literature and with recent insights from behavioral economics and psychology, and (2) further apply TCT to study recent phenomena such as platforms and two-sided markets, the implications of artificial intelligence for governance decisions, and the pursuit of non-pecuniary objectives such as sustainability.

Keywords

Transaction cost theory, review

Discipline

Organizational Behavior and Theory | Strategic Management Policy

Research Areas

Strategy and Organisation

Publication

Academy of Management Annals

Volume

15

Issue

1

First Page

111

Last Page

150

ISSN

1941-6520

Identifier

10.5465/annals.2019.0051

Publisher

Academy of Management / Taylor & Francis (Routledge)

Embargo Period

10-11-2020

Copyright Owner and License

Authors

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.5465/annals.2019.0051

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