My research focuses on business strategy, contracts, and organizational design, with an emphasis on the interaction between formal and relational governance mechanisms, and between governance and institutions.
Note: authors in a paper are listed in alphabetical order unless their contribution is unequal, in which case the order of authors reflects their relative contribution.
Main publications
“Contracting to (Dis)incentivize? An Integrative Transaction-Cost Approach on How Contracts Govern Specific Investments” with D. Lo and M. Ghosh, 2022, Strategic Management Journal 43: 1528-1555.
"Transparency in Relational Contracts," with M. Fahn, 2022, Strategic Management Journal 43: 1046-1071.
“Relationships under Stress: Relational Outsourcing in the US Airline Industry after the 2008 Financial Crisis,” with R. Gil and MJ. Kim, 2022, Management Science 68: 1256-1277.
“The Role of Relationship Scope in Sustaining Relational Contracts in interfirm networks,” with N. Argyres and J. Bercovitz, 2020, Strategic Management Journal 41: 222-245.
“Property Rights in Sequential Exchange,” with B. Arruñada and N. Garoupa, 2019, Journal of Law, Economics and Organization 35: 127-153.
“On the Determinants and Consequences of Informal Contracting,” with R. Gil, 2018, Journal of Economics and Management Strategy 27: 726-741.
“Formal and Informal Contracting: Theory and Evidence,” with R. Gil, 2017, Annual Review of Law and Social Science 13: 141-159.
“Endogenous Enforcement Institutions,” with G. Aldashev, 2017, Journal of Development Economics 128: 49-64.
“The Double-Edged Effect of Knowledge Acquisition: How Contracts Safeguard Pre-Existing Resources,” with D. Lo and T. Madsen, 2016, Strategic Management Journal 37: 2014-20.
“New Frontiers in the Empirical Research on Informal Contracting,” with R. Gil, 2016, Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics 172: 390-407.
“Contract Adaptation under Legal Constraints,” 2013, Journal of Law, Economics and Organization 29: 799-834.
“Vertical Restraints and the Law: Evidence from Automobile Franchising,” 2009, Journal of Law and Economics 52: 691-700.
“Institutional Constraints on Organizations: The Case of Spanish Car Dealerships,” with B. Arruñada and L. Vázquez, 2009, Managerial and Decision Economics 30: 15-26
Papers under review and completed working papers
"Does Supply Concentration Encourage Cooperation? Evidence From Airlines," with N. Argyres and R. Gil, Novcember 2022, Revise & Resubmit at Management Science.
Selected work in progress
"Sleeping with the Enemy: How Politicians and Interest Groups Adapt their Collaborations in the Face of Reputational Threats," with M. Espinosa and A. Ilango.
"Interorganizational Governance: Cross-Fertilizing the Management and Economics Literatures," with N. Argyres and F. Lumineau.
“Governance in the Wild: A Theory of Private vs. State Firms under Weak Institutions,” with G. Aldashev and H. Rantakari.
“Effort Allocation and Governance in Lobbying-Client Relationships: Evidence from the U.S. Foreign Agents Registration Act,” with M. Espinosa.
“Relational Contracts and Firm Boundaries: Evidence from Slot Exchanges in the US Airline Industry,” with R. Gil.
“Multimarket Contacts and Cooperation: Evidence from Airlines,” with R. Gil.
“Property Rights in Personal and Impersonal Exchange: A Lab-in-the-Field Experiment,” with B. Arruñada, M. Fabbri, and D. Nosenzo.
“Contracts as Management Practices: Evidence from Supplier Handbooks,” with N. Argyres and L. Bernstein.
"Blockchain: The Birth of Decentralized Governance," with B. Arruñada, M. Espinosa, and L. Garicano.
“Relational Contracts and the Value of Commitment,” with M. Fahn.
Book chapters
“Contracting in Innovative Industries,” with Ricard Gil, 2018, in Ménard, Claude, and Mary Shirley (editors), A Research Agenda for New Institutional Economics, Edward Elgar Publishers, 2018.
“Restricting Franchising: An Empirical Analysis of the Allocation of Control Rights in Car Dealership Contracts,” in CAFAGGI, F., Corporate Governance, Networks and Innovation, CEDAM, Padova, 2005.
Invited papers and other publications
"Williamson and Relational Contracts," with B. Arruñada, 2020, Society for Institutional and Organizational Economics, essays on Oliver Williamson's legacy.
"Relational Contracting in Developed Economies: Lessons From Slot Exchanges in the US Airline Industry," with R. Gil and MJ. Kim, 2019, Japanese Economic Review 70: 411-421.
“Informal Contracting within and between Firms,” 2017, with R. Gil, RAUSP Management Journal 5: 492-496.
“Coase (1937) revisited: Endogenous Fiat in Firms and Markets,” 2012, International Review of Economics 59: 201-221, special issue in honor of Ronald Coase edited by Henry Smith.
“Contratos Alrededor de la Ley: El Caso de la Distribución de Automóviles,” 2010, Economía Industrial 376: 111-118.