From the "dream of opportunities" to the "nirvana of trust" : issues for a framework on cooperative agreement stability

Abstract

In the era of hyper-competition, rather than simply coping with dynamic technological capabilities, firms are supposed to have relationship capabilities. Cooperation seems to emerge as an overall option for competitiveness. But a question still remains: is cooperation really cooperative? This paper intends to establish a theoretical approach to the explanation of such dilemma and to propose a framework for issues related to stable cooperation among firms. Strategic alliances and networks are the main options. The difference from one to the other will be the combination of opportunism-trust vis-à-vis techno-economic asset interdependence.