Contractual safeguarding of specific assets in cross-border and domestic buyer–supplier relationships

Safeguarding specific investments and mitigation of potential opportunistic behaviours are among the most prominent functions of formal contracting in buyer–seller relationships. Extending the extant literature, the present study investigates the relationship between specific investments and the extent of formal contracting in cross-border and domestic relationships. Based on a sample of 156 buyer–seller relationships, the analysis shows that there is a positive association between specific investments and the extent of formal contracting. However, the emphasis on formal contracting is stronger in cross-border relationships than in the domestic ones. Interestingly, the association between specific investments and formal contracting becomes even stronger in cross-border relationships. Keywords: formal contracting, contractual safeguarding, specific investments, domestic buyer–supplier relationships, cross-border buyer–supplier relationships