In country we trust? National trust and the governance of international R&D alliances

Abstract Drawing on a cognitive perspective of trust, we propose that the trust towards an alliance partner’s country, which we call national trust, will affect the governance structure used to organize the alliance between the partners. We further argue that this effect of national trust is moderated by improved information on the partner firm. Using a sample of international alliances among firms based in Western European countries, we find support for the main effect of national trust on alliance governance decisions, as well as partial support for an information-based moderation.