The Social Science of Contracting

David Frydlinger (), Kate Vitasek (), Jim Bergman () and Tim Cummins ()
Additional contact information
David Frydlinger: Cirio Law Firm
Kate Vitasek: University of Tennessee at Knoxville
Jim Bergman: Commercial Officers Group, Inc
Tim Cummins: World Commerce & Contracting

Chapter Chapter 4 in Contracting in the New Economy, 2021, pp 45-54 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract In this chapter, the Social Science of Contracting is given thorough and deserved attention. Stewart Macaulay astutely observed that in business, the commercial activities are carried out in a social context. While the written contract and legal guidance matters, social norms often matter much more. While Macaulay’s research sparked the conversation, the original thinking behind the importance of social norms in contracting can be traced back to Emile Durkheim, one of the founding fathers of sociology. Durkheim’s research, as well as that of many other scholars, is explored. A vital aspect of the relational contract is, as we will see, to deliberately leverage these social norms to the benefit of both parties, not least by lowering friction between the parties. Contracting professionals need a solid understanding of the social side of contracts and the role of social norms in all commercial relationships, and this chapter enables that understanding.

Date: 2021
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-3-030-65099-5_4

Ordering information: This item can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/9783030650995

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-65099-5_4

Access Statistics for this chapter

More chapters in Springer Books from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().