The Preference of Inter-Organizational Trust on Corporate Benefit-Seeking Behaviors: A Mechanisms-Based and Policy-Capturing Analysis

Abstract

In the realm of organizational cooperation, the choice of benefit behaviors has a profound impact on the sustainability of the collaboration. The influence of trust relationships on firms’ decisions regarding private versus common benefit behaviors has been a subject of debate among researchers. To address this debate, we propose and test an analytical framework that acknowledges the presence of two fundamental dimensions in partner relationships: calculative trust and relational trust. Through the utilization of a policy-capturing approach, we rigorously examine and validate our hypotheses at a mechanistic level. Our findings indicate that both calculative trust and relational trust increase the likelihood of firms adopting both private and common benefit behaviors. Furthermore, in terms of comparative choices between private and common benefit behaviors, calculative trust exerts a stronger influence on firms’ preference for private benefit, while relational trust has a stronger impact on firms’ preference for common benefit. Lastly, we discuss the theoretical and empirical implications arising from the results of this study.

1. Introduction

During inter-organizational cooperation, participating firms often encounter the coexistence of cooperative and competitive forces [1,2]. This tension arises from the fact that firms pursue both common and private benefit behaviors within their collaboration networks [3,4]. On the one hand, firms need to adopt common benefit behavioral strategies to facilitate resource sharing and create synergistic outcomes [5]. On the other hand, they also need to develop private benefit strategies to protect their own interests by internalizing public resources and capabilities. The relationship between these two types of benefit behaviors significantly impacts the sustainability of inter-organizational cooperation. Inter-organizational trust plays a crucial role in shaping firms’ strategic tendencies towards benefit behaviors as it affects resource availability and communication efficiency [6,7]. Previous research suggests that trust promotes open communication and increased input from collaborating firms, leading to the development of common benefit behaviors [6,8]. Additionally, trust is believed to mitigate opportunistic behaviors, promote procedural regularity, and enhance cooperation efficiency, thereby fostering private benefit behaviors [9]. It can be seen that trust is an important factor influencing the preference for the choice of benefit behaviors in the process of corporate cooperation, but there is still considerable disagreement in current research on the specific mechanism of its role.

Much of the existing research on the mechanisms of trust influence tends to treat trust as an aggregate construct, ignoring the impact of differences in its sources on the mechanisms of trust [10,11]. Although the literature offers multiple explanatory perspectives on inter-organizational trust, this aggregated approach often yields inconsistent results and conflicting interpretations of trust mechanisms [12,13]. By distinguishing between different types of inter-organizational trust, we can gain a better understanding of its concept and effectively manage its role. Previous studies have classified trust into calculative trust and relational trust based on theoretical assumptions and decision rules [14,15]. Calculative trust follows “limited rationality” and forward-looking decision rules, where firms build trust by evaluating the pros and cons of each transaction [9]. Relational trust focuses on the social attributes of cooperation and employs retrospective decision rules, where firms’ judgments are based on the quality of previous relationships as a whole [16]. Emerging literature suggests that different types of trust can influence firms’ positioning and cooperative or competitive behaviors differently [17]. Therefore, this paper focuses on how different types of trust influence firms’ behavioral tendencies, aiming to provide a comprehensive understanding of trust mechanisms.

In this study, we theoretically analyze how different forms of inter-organizational trust influence firms’ choices regarding common or private benefits. Furthermore, we adopt a policy-capturing approach, which is well-suited for empirically testing this discriminatory logic [18]. Instead of aggregating trust, as commonly done, we employ a disaggregated and mechanism-based analysis to capture qualitative distinctions in trust among organizations. This approach allows us to build upon previous studies more accurately. For instance, Williamson, Gulati, and others highlight the significance of trust in enhancing transaction efficiency and promoting self-interest in terms of transaction costs [19,20]. Capaldo et al. explain the positive role of trust in facilitating organizational resource exchange and knowledge for corporate input and business development [21]. These existing studies shed light on the importance of trust from various theoretical perspectives. By distinguishing and examining the mechanisms of different types of trust, we can better understand their impact on firms’ behavioral tendencies towards benefit behaviors.

In summary, our study is expected to contribute in the following ways: Firstly, we reconcile previous perspectives on when calculative and relational trust is more or less effective. We incorporate both types of trust into a unified research model that considers their distinct roles in influencing firms’ behavioral choices regarding common and private benefits. Secondly, we introduce a strategy capture approach to operationalize and test the effects of these two types of trust on firms’ behavioral choices in cooperation. In subsequent sections, we provide a detailed exploration of how this approach allows us to evaluate the significance of differences in the mechanisms of these two distinct types of trust. Through this analysis, we aim to understand how different forms of inter-organizational trust influence firms’ subsequent willingness to choose benefit behaviors.

2. Theory and Hypothesis

In inter-organizational cooperation scenarios, a substantial body of research in the existing literature has focused on examining how trust influences firm behaviors. For instance, Samant and Zalabak investigate the factors that influence two behavioral strategies—namely, benefit behaviors—and the mechanisms through which trust impacts corporate behaviors [22]. Within the realm of cooperation, enterprises demonstrate different value aspirations and exhibit two specific types of benefit behaviors [23]. On the one hand, the private benefit behavior strategy emphasizes firms’ pursuit of value capture and an increase in their share of benefits from cooperation [24]. Dominated by the private benefit behavior strategy, enterprises continuously enhance their dominance in cooperation by leveraging their own resources, promoting beneficial innovations and market behaviors, and emphasizing the logic of maximizing gains from cooperation [25]. On the other hand, the common benefit behavior strategy emphasizes value creation, mutual coordination, and co-creation between enterprises and partners [26]. Under this strategy, companies focus on mobilizing shared resources, enhancing coordination capabilities, fostering innovation and market competitiveness, and realizing mutually beneficial outcomes, thereby emphasizing the logic of creating a larger value proposition [22].

The private benefits behavior strategy can indeed facilitate the swift conversion of resources into capital, but it also carries the risk of fostering inter-firm competition, which hampers long-term cooperation between companies [27]. The development of private benefits behavior is contingent upon ensuring the safety and efficiency of the cooperation process. In contrast, the common benefits behavior strategy enables the pooling of enterprise resources, promoting cooperation and innovation among participating entities. However, it can also lead to resource wastage and diminish the overall cooperation performance of the involved companies [28]. The effectiveness of the common benefits behavior strategy primarily relies on the degree of inter-firm communication and resource integration. Consequently, it is essential to adopt both private and common benefit behavior strategies to ensure the sustainability of corporate cooperation [4]. Focusing solely on private benefit behavior strategies may trigger inter-firm competition, resulting in cooperation breakdown. Similarly, concentrating solely on common benefit behavior strategies can lead to inefficient cooperation and cooperation breakdown [29]. Therefore, it is critical to differentiate the influencing factors associated with private and common benefit behavioral strategies in order to guarantee the sustainability of corporate cooperation and achieve optimal efficiency in cooperative endeavors.

Drawing on previous research, scholars have provided explanations for the influence of trust on business behavior from various perspectives. For instance, Ryu, Park, and Min (2007) emphasize that trust, while motivating cooperative behavior in firms, can exhibit distinct action logics [30]. This manifests in two primary ways. Firstly, scholars argue that trust serves as a mechanism to mitigate opportunistic behaviors in cooperation, reduce friction, enhance efficiency, and create a favorable environment for enterprises to develop and reap their own benefits [9]. Secondly, scholars contend that trust facilitates inter-firm communication, gradually erodes inter-organizational hierarchical management structures, and promotes cooperation flexibility, which is instrumental in fostering input stimulation and the development of common benefit behaviors [6]. This study posits that the divergence in research findings is primarily attributable to the treatment of trust as an aggregated construct in previous research, thereby overlooking the differentiated effects of various types of trust on firm behavior [10].

Trust can be categorized into two types, namely calculative trust and relational trust, depending on the sources from which it originates [17]. Calculative trust represents enterprises’ forward-looking decision-making logic, where they evaluate and weigh their partners’ reputations, resources, and cooperation contracts to determine their corporate behaviors [9]. To enhance calculative trust between enterprises, a stable cooperation environment and a high capacity to secure individual benefits play vital roles [20,31]. In contrast, relational trust is rooted in the overall quality of relationships that develop over time through interactions. In this case, businesses place greater emphasis on the social attributes of organizational cooperation and rely on their trading partners to exhibit ethical and fair behavior [16]. Relational trust fosters more conducive conditions for inter-firm communication, effectively enhancing the flexibility of business cooperation and the ability to navigate uncertainties [32]. However, an excessive focus on the protection of the trading environment by calculative trust can have consequences on the construction of a cooperative community, leading to a lack of maintenance of shared interests among cooperating enterprises [30]. On the other hand, while relational trust facilitates the “lubricating” effect of social attributes in cooperation, it may weaken the sense of inter-organizational boundaries of interests and potentially engender caution in pursuing private benefits [10]. By differentiating the attributes of calculative and relational trust, we can delve into the specific effects of these different types of trust on firm behavior, providing a comprehensive understanding of the underlying mechanisms of trust.

2.1. Calculative Trust and Corporate Benefit Behavior

Calculative trust aims to establish favorable trading conditions for firms by regulating behaviors through well-designed contracts and effective reward and punishment systems [33], thereby fostering positive expectations regarding the reliability and predictability of their trading partners’ conduct [31]. At its core, calculative trust relies on a rational evaluation of the reward and punishment mechanisms for behaviors in the cooperative process, where the potential high costs associated with breaching trust outweigh the gains derived from opportunistic actions [11,32]. Consequently, this reduces the impact of opportunistic behavior and information asymmetry, thus minimizing friction and enhancing cooperation efficiency [31].

Firstly, calculative trust provides firms with stable cooperation procedures, effectively curbing opportunistic behaviors and monitoring costs resulting from mutual unfamiliarity or information asymmetry between firms [34]. According to Williamson, individuals consistently strive to protect and maximize their private benefits in economic activities, and information asymmetry and limited human rationality create opportunities for opportunistic behaviors [20]. Moreover, enterprises lacking cooperation experience and having unfamiliarity with each other face more pronounced information asymmetry, leading to tests of each other’s boundaries to secure maximum benefits [35]. Consequently, many enterprises consider guarding against opportunistic behaviors a critical task during cooperation, leading to high supervision costs and diminished efficiency of inter-enterprise cooperation synergy [36]. Under conditions of calculative trust, a stringent and stable cooperation process offers clear guidelines, significantly limiting opportunities for opportunistic behaviors, reducing supervision costs, and providing stable conditions for enterprise development and private benefit attainment [37]. Simultaneously, a stable cooperation environment and an efficient cooperation model enhance enterprises’ return on investment, thereby fostering willingness to jointly pursue common benefits [38].

Secondly, calculative trust furnishes companies with comprehensive plans for addressing unexpected events, effectively mitigating the cost of friction in business collaborations and improving resource synergy efficiency between companies and partners [39]. Uncertainty events are commonplace in collaboration and often lead to increased costs and breakdowns [40]. In cases where contracts do not include provisions for dealing with such uncertain events, friction and high communication costs arise when confronted with uncertainty, prompting many companies to opt for premature termination of cooperation [41]. For instance, during our interviews, managers frequently mentioned that “it is very common that in cases where the cooperation is not deep, most of the time is spent playing for self-interest, which wastes a lot of time and opportunities, and many companies in such cases would prefer to replace the partner to stop the damage in time”. Calculative trust proactively establishes comprehensive plans for uncertain events, minimizing ambiguity in company cooperation, enhancing clarity of rights and responsibilities, reducing the cost of friction in handling uncertainty, safeguarding legitimate interests, and fostering a conducive environment for long-term cooperation [42].

In summary, we contend that calculative trust offers a stable cooperation process and a comprehensive contingency plan, thus reducing supervision costs, friction, and ambiguity in cooperation. This enhances resource synergy efficiency and creates an environment conducive to protecting and advancing corporate interests, leading us to propose the following hypothesis.

Hypothesis 1 (H1). 

The greater the level of calculative trust, the greater the likelihood of corporations developing both private and common benefit behaviors.

In regard to the comparative selection between common and private benefit behaviors by firms, it is noteworthy to consider the influential role of calculative trust in favoring the promotion of private benefit behaviors. Firstly, calculative trust establishes a stringent system of rewards and sanctions, effectively reducing opportunistic behaviors and ensuring that firms can attain reasonable private benefits [11]. Existing research suggests that firms inclined towards private benefit behaviors prioritize stability and secure access to benefits [22]. Opportunistic behavior represents a highly unstable factor in the process of enterprise cooperation and a major cause of cooperation breakdowns [43]. Through its robust system of sanctions, calculative trust significantly undermines enterprises’ inclination towards opportunistic behaviors, fostering a stable and secure cooperative environment [44]. For example, in our interviews, many managers would repeatedly say: “Opportunistic behaviors can seriously undermine old patterns of cooperation, and when it occurs, participating companies become very careful. Therefore, we usually have very severe penalties for common opportunistic behavior and companies tend to establish such a system before cooperation because it protects their legitimate interests and significantly reduces additional costs”.

Secondly, stable transaction processes and trading patterns play crucial roles in establishing calculative trust between firms, significantly enhancing the efficiency of corporate cooperation and return on investment [45]. Private benefit behaviors revolve around maximizing return on investment in business cooperation. Efficient resource synergies among firms serve as a pivotal element in maintaining partnerships and improving firms’ ability to create and capture benefits [46]. On the one hand, stable transaction processes and models provide a well-defined path for cooperation, substantially reducing communication time and costs between enterprises and facilitating swift collaboration [47]. On the other hand, stable transaction processes and models offer expedited resolutions to inter-firm conflicts, effectively mitigating the risk of cooperation breakdowns arising from such conflicts and minimizing the time and economic costs associated with friction and disputes. Consequently, calculative trust emerges as a driving force for businesses, enabling cost reduction and facilitating private benefit behaviors.

Finally, the lack of clear definition and protection concerning ambiguous areas of benefits in a calculative trust-based cooperation approach can generate uncertainty in the public domain, potentially undermining business benefits [42,44]. Calculative trust strives to safeguard private business benefits by emphasizing the establishment of certainty clauses in cooperation. However, in business cooperation, enterprises inevitably encounter situations where inputs extend into the public domain, and contracts have inherent limitations in addressing public domain inputs and benefit distribution [9]. This is because collaboration in the public domain often entails high levels of uncertainty, and contracts cannot encompass all potential uncertainties [48]. As interviewees noted, “Public input is always the most prudent thing for business collaboration. On the one hand, because cooperation in the public sphere always involves unanticipated risks, which can add additional costs, and on the other hand because contracts have limited relevance in this regard”. It becomes apparent that calculative trust primarily aims to manage anticipated risks in business-to-business cooperation, potentially overlooking unanticipated risks.

In summary, we posit that calculative trust enhances the efficiency of resource synergy between enterprises by establishing a stable, secure, and efficient cooperative environment, thereby reducing cooperation costs and fostering a favorable climate for the development of private benefits. However, the public domain introduces inherent uncertainties, and contracts are unable to address all aspects of uncertainty, thereby weakening the definition and protection of ambiguous areas of benefits in the public domain within the framework of calculative trust. This leads us to propose the following hypothesis.

Hypothesis 2 (H2). 

The greater the level of calculative trust, the greater the likelihood of the corporation preferring private benefit behavior versus common benefit behavior.

2.2. Relational Trust and Corporate Benefit Behavior

Unlike calculative trust, which adopts an economic framework and instrumental rationality assumptions, relational trust operates within a social and psychological context, emphasizing the social aspects of organizational attributes [16,49]. Relational trust posits that all economic activities of an organization are embedded in social relationships and that a firm’s economic actions are influenced or constrained by the relationships within its social network [50]. Under conditions of relational trust, the foundation of transactions between firms becomes a crucial element influencing firms’ judgments and transactional efficiency [51]. Essentially, relational trust is grounded in an overall assessment of past collaborative relationships, following a retrospective decision-making rule [21]. This is primarily because relational trust provides increasingly sophisticated cooperation rules for inter-firm collaboration, mitigating transactional friction in the face of uncertainty and facilitating smooth transactions between organizations [52].

Firstly, relational trust facilitates the accumulation of cooperative rules, significantly reducing the time costs associated with business negotiation processes. Drawing from transaction cost theory and game theory, scholars have observed that haggling is an inevitable negotiation process and a fundamental source of inefficient cooperation and opportunistic behaviors [20]. Relational trust, built on long-term amicable interactions between firms, leads to the accumulation of mutually satisfactory cooperation rules over time [8,16]. The longer and more extensive the cooperation between firms, the more these accumulated cooperation rules streamline the bargaining process with partners, minimizing time costs during negotiations [53]. By adhering to collaborative rules, firms can significantly decrease the likelihood of conflicts arising during negotiations and reduce the temporal and economic costs associated with such conflicts [54]. Additionally, collaborative rules serve as unique assets between partners and cannot be easily transferred, strengthening the long-term commitment and willingness of partners to collaborate [55].

Secondly, relational trust fosters open communication between companies, enabling the development of shared values and identities, which increases goal alignment and drives greater cooperation [56]. In the absence of relational trust, the likelihood of divergent objectives and conflicts over benefit distribution increases, prompting a stronger focus on protecting private benefits as companies become more engaged in business activities [57]. Shared values and identities enable companies to think, feel, and react in similar ways, aligning decision-making processes and leading to more favorable decisions, thereby enhancing the relationship and synergistic outcomes [49]. This perspective encourages viewing inter-organizational cooperation from a long-term standpoint, bolstering the willingness to develop businesses and safeguard common benefits. Furthermore, open communication between companies facilitated by relational trust reduces lead time for new business with partners and increases partners’ willingness to tolerate private benefit attainment, thereby promoting greater cooperation [8,16].

In summary, we posit that relational trust enhances the efficiency of resource synergy and goal alignment between firms through the establishment of cooperative rules and open communication. This facilitates smoother inter-firm cooperation and transactions, creating a conducive environment for the development of both common and private benefits. Thus, we derive the following hypothesis.

Hypothesis 3 (H3). 

The greater the level of relational trust, the greater the likelihood of a corporation developing both private and common benefit behaviors.

Regarding the comparative selection between common and private benefit behaviors of firms, it is noteworthy that relational trust plays a significant role in promoting common benefit behaviors. Firstly, relational trust facilitates the exchange of privileged resources between firms, enhancing firms’ ability to develop private benefits [58]. Within a normal relational distance, firms are reluctant or unable to engage in resource transactions with other firms, such as corporate innovations, tacit knowledge, and information [59]. This is due to the difficulty in pricing privileged resources and their limited transferability [60]. Relational trust enables firms to establish effective psychological contracts with their partners, fostering a willingness to exchange privileged resources for mutual benefit [61]. This facilitates the efficient exchange of privileged resources and the transfer of outcomes and knowledge [57]. The exchange of privileged resources effectively expands an organization’s resource richness, enhances firms’ market competitiveness, and strengthens the bond between firms and their partners [60]. As stated by interviewees, “To unlock the value of corporate collaboration with maximum efficiency, it must be predicated on full trust, and full trust enables companies to offer resources without reservation and a willingness to actively maintain the relationship, which can make the potential for corporate collaboration enormous”.

Secondly, relational trust contributes to the resilience of inter-firm cooperation, enhancing the ability of firms and partners to collectively address changes in the external environment [62]. Scholars have long recognized that changes in the external environment’s uncertainty significantly impact the effectiveness of organizational cooperation [63]. Particularly, when contracts struggle to address external uncertainty events, firms tend to develop pessimistic expectations for future collaborations and exhibit more self-centered behaviors in their cooperation [41]. This can lead to the abandonment of common goals and the emergence of intense friction. However, when relational trust exists between firms, it acts as a binding agent in the face of external environmental pressures, stimulating closer ties between firms [49]. Furthermore, under conditions of relational trust, firms allow partners to dynamically adjust agreements in response to unforeseen market changes [1]. For instance, several leaders mentioned during interviews that “when uncertainty arises, trust makes us more willing to communicate to find the right solution, which gives us more room for flexibility”.

Finally, relational trust mitigates the pervasive threat of opportunism in collaboration, enhancing transparency and proactiveness in inter-organizational learning [64]. Relational trust signifies a mutually respectful and interdependent partnership between a company and its partners, significantly influencing a company’s ability to effectively protect its core proprietary assets while learning from its partners [51]. This fosters increased transparency and initiative in inter-organizational learning, strengthening an organization’s market competitiveness in developing private benefits [65]. However, while relational trust promotes private benefits through improved transparency and initiative in inter-organizational learning, its positive impact is limited. This is because the pursuit of private benefits can widen the divergence of interests between organizations, hinder further resource and knowledge sharing, and potentially overshadow other benefits that relational trust brings [51]. As expressed by an interviewee, “With long-term partners, we all dare to give each other greater access to openness. However, the more mutual trust we have, the more important it is for us to manage our organizational boundaries, and especially not to expand our own interests at will, as this could cause an irreversible blow to the trust relationship”.

In conclusion, we assert that relational trust creates favorable conditions for the development of common benefits by facilitating the exchange of privileged resources between firms and the ability to collectively address changes in the external environment. Although relational trust also enhances transparency and proactiveness in inter-organizational learning, thereby improving firms’ competitiveness in terms of private benefit behaviors, its impact in this regard is limited. This leads us to propose the following hypothesis.

Hypothesis 4 (H4). 

The greater the level of relational trust, the greater the likelihood of the corporation preferring common benefit behavior versus private benefit behavior.

We review the organization-trust literature and propose a suitable model. We proposed and examined several hypotheses in Figure 1 to understand the relationship between several variables.

3. Methods and Data

This chapter consists of four subsections, the first of which is an experimental scenario approach, which introduces the advantages of policy capturing. The second subsection is realism and external validity, which focuses on the validity of the questionnaire. The third subsection is the questionnaire, which introduces the questionnaire design. The fourth subsection is data collection and analysis, which explains the questionnaire collection process.

3.1. Experimental Scenario Approach

We have adopted a well-established experimental scenario approach to investigate corporate benefit choices within the context of calculative and relational trust in organizations [66,67]. This approach has a rich history in various fields, including survey research, and has been extensively applied in management studies, particularly in the domains of strategic organizational management and broader management and organization research [68]. The experimental scenario approach encompasses a range of specific methods that are often collectively referred to as “policy capturing” (PC). A scenario is a “carefully constructed description of a person, event or situation that represents a combination of characteristics of a system”, and policy capturing is achieved by providing respondents with a series of scenarios and allowing them to make decisions and judgments accordingly [69]. For a detailed outline of the questionnaire content, please refer to Appendix A.

Most studies on organizational behavior and governance, such as decision-making on acquisitions, alliances, and imitation, rely on secondary data that provide indirect evidence of organizational governance but lack selective information necessary for direct comparisons of counterfactuals [67]. The policy-capturing approach addresses this limitation by allowing respondents to base their thinking and judgments on their actual decision-making strategies rather than presenting idealized strategies to conform to social desirability or self-perception biases [66]. Consequently, the PC approach is widely used in strategic management studies to gain insights into how senior managers process relevant information when making decisions regarding business expansion, thus providing a reliable assessment for decision-making [66].

The policy-capturing approach offers several advantages. Firstly, it enables the integration of two behavioral choices—common and private benefits—into a comprehensive study, facilitating a direct examination of the attractiveness of these choices. Secondly, this method allows for a direct investigation of decision-making patterns among executives, specifically by isolating the preferences of individual parties. In contrast, studies utilizing realized data aggregate executives’ preferences, which may obscure individual decision-making patterns. Moreover, prior research has shown that executives often struggle to articulate their decision models and describe the factors that influence their decision-making behavior, particularly without effective calibration methods. By employing the policy-capturing approach, we can statistically determine decision weights instead of relying solely on executives’ subjective perceptions of their past decision-making models [66]. In summary, the policy-capturing approach addresses some of the limitations associated with traditional methods and provides researchers with an appealing means to uncover potential process-based approaches that shape executives’ behavioral preferences.

3.2. Realism and External Validity

One challenge associated with policy-capturing research is its potential limitation in terms of external validity. Critics argue that respondents may exhibit different decision-making behavior in high-stakes scenarios, such as mergers and acquisitions, compared to their responses in a real-life context [70]. To address these validity concerns, Highhouse (2009) suggests that attention to the questionnaire’s scenario design and the representativeness of respondents can effectively bridge the gap between experimental scenarios and real-world scenarios [71]. For instance, recruiting knowledgeable respondents who closely match the scenario and conducting iterative testing of the questions are crucial steps for enhancing the questionnaire’s validity [66]. Additionally, empirical evidence indicates that respondents’ choices in hypothetical scenarios often bear similarities to their decisions in real-life situations. For example, Wiseman and Levin found no significant variations in respondents’ choices, regardless of whether the outcomes materialized [72]. By carefully screening the respondent population and controlling the scenario questionnaire, these approaches help ensure the external validity of the policy-capturing method.

To enhance the realism of our study, we maintained consistent scenario descriptions and selected knowledgeable key informants with relevant experience. We collected a total of 128 valid one-to-one questionnaires (out of 143 questionnaires collected, resulting in a valid questionnaire rate of 89.5%). Current research on the policy-capturing method emphasizes that the number of questionnaires is a crucial factor influencing the scientific validity of the data, with a recommended range of 25–35 sets of questionnaires and a total number of scenarios exceeding 1500. In our study, we obtained 128 valid questionnaires, consisting of 32 sets of questionnaires and a total of 2048 scenarios, aligning with the theoretical range of the policy-capturing method. The completion time for each questionnaire ranged from 40 to 70 min, depending on whether the respondent engaged in a scenario extension with the researcher. After each questionnaire was completed, it was instantly scored for reliability on a scale of 1–10 based on the effectiveness of the conversation with the respondent and the quality of the respondent’s completion. We excluded 15 questionnaires with a reliability score below 6. Moreover, we conducted a repeated scenario assessment to evaluate the consistency of respondents’ responses, which yielded a test-retest correlation coefficient of 0.8 [62]. The final sample comprised 128 executives from diverse companies, with 68% male and 32% female participants. The majority (84%) held senior executive positions (VP or above) within their companies, and respondents represented various industries (primary industries: 20%; secondary industries: 44%; tertiary industries: 36%) without a specific distribution pattern. Detailed statistics on respondent information are presented in

Table 1. Statistics on the distribution of respondents.

Gender	Male	Female
	87 (68%)	41 (32%)
Industry	Primary Industry	Secondary Industry	Tertiary Industry
	27 (20%)	56 (44%)	45 (36%)
Work Background	Technology	Marketing/Sales	Other Management
	41 (32%)	39 (30%)	48 (38%)
Position	Department Head	Vice President	General Manager
	21 (16%)	44 (35%)	63 (49%)
Working Experience	3–5 years	5–10 years	More than 10 years
	32 (25%)	65 (51%)	31 (24%)

.

3.3. Questionnaire

3.3.1. Questionnaire Design

The research questionnaire was carefully designed with five sections to ensure the scientific rigor and comprehensiveness of the research data. The first section, the research context, underwent iterative discussions and adjustments involving 18 managers and 5 academics before being distributed on a large scale. This process ensured that the description accurately reflected a realistic decision-making context and incorporated common terms and examples commonly used in management practice. The second section, the explanation of variables, provides a theoretical definition and practical description of the situational factors (calculative trust, relational trust, interdependence, closure, interaction, time) and decision variables (common and private benefits). A neutral example scenario is included to avoid respondent misunderstandings and minimize priming effects [70]. The third section, scenario presentation, consists of 16 scenarios, each presented on a single page and in random order to prevent any potential sequential effects.

The fourth section, data checking, focuses on individual-level controls and includes 1–2 repeated scenarios per block to ensure data reliability. The fifth section, information gathering, comprises a survey of individual and organizational factors that may influence behavioral choices, serving as valid control variables. These factors may include work experience, industry background, executive position, and other relevant information. By incorporating these sections, the research questionnaire covers the necessary aspects to collect comprehensive and reliable data for the study. The careful consideration of each section contributes to the accuracy and validity of the research findings.

3.3.2. Experiments and Their Measurements

In PC studies, determining the appropriate number of factors and levels is a crucial consideration [70]. The selection of these factors requires a combination of theoretical insights and practical knowledge. In order to strike a balance between questionnaire complexity and the need for comprehensive trust assessment, we decided to include six factors in our study [18]. Calculative trust and relational trust represent the main dimensions of trust theory that have been extensively studied. Interdependence, closure, interaction, and time are included, as they have strong theoretical connections with business behavioral decisions. Moreover, by incorporating these factors as control variables, we can isolate the effects of calculative trust and relational trust from other factors such as interdependence.

The wording of the variables is of utmost importance for the success of the experiment. It requires striking a balance between maintaining consistency with established measures in the academic literature and creating a practical operational context that reflects the perspectives of key informants. Through iterative feedback with researchers and executives, we identified key concepts and finalized the wording to accurately describe each level of each factor. Specifically, for “calculative trust”, we relied on the work of Poppo et al. (2016) and Cohen (2014) [11,14]. Calculative trust is defined as the level of trust that corporations have in their collaborating firms in terms of capabilities, resources, and the normative nature of the collaboration. It reflects the satisfaction and willingness of both parties to actively engage in collaboration based on the available resources and models [11,14]. For “relational trust”, we drew upon the research of Poppo et al. (2016) and Bertoldo et al. (2020) [11,17]. Relational trust is defined as the mutual value placed on long-term goals and overall fairness by both parties. It signifies the trust that both parties will not undermine the state of cooperation due to short-term profit distribution or project failure [11,17]. The concept of “interdependence” is based on Williamson’s (1993) work, which characterizes interdependence as a strong business synergy between partners, following jointly developed rules and processes to add value [20]. “Closure” is defined according to Etzioni’s (1996) definition, referring to the presence of a shared community between partners with a specific sense of identity and a high level of external demand [73]. “Interaction” represents the formal and informal social relationships between partners and their ability to communicate when facing challenges in the cooperative process [74]. Finally, “time” refers to the duration of stable and continuous cooperation established between partners [75]. By carefully defining and wording these variables, we ensure clarity and consistency in the assessment of trust and its associated factors, allowing for a more accurate analysis of their effects on benefit behavior choices.

3.3.3. Incomplete Block Design

Since all six scenario elements had 0 and 1 levels, a total of 2⁶ = 64 scenarios were generated. Determining the appropriate number of questions for respondents to answer is a critical consideration in survey design. Both too few and too many questions can have negative effects on response accuracy, such as priming or fatigue effects. Considering the specific context of our study and drawing insights from Mellewigt et al. (2017) and pre-research feedback, it was determined that requiring respondents to evaluate all 64 scenarios would be excessive [18]. To address this, we adopted an incomplete block design based on the experimental protocol. The 64 scenarios were divided into blocks of equal size, with each respondent only required to answer one scenario block [76]. Throughout the distribution process, the study team ensured that each subset was answered almost an equal number of times, thereby preserving the integrity of the questionnaire data. The use of incomplete block designs offers the advantage of requiring fewer scenarios per participant compared to full factorial designs without compromising the validity of the results [76]. However, to maintain validity, certain rules must be followed, such as including each level of a factor an equal number of times within each block. Therefore, it was crucial to select a block size that was a multiple of the factor levels, such as 16 scenarios per block or a corresponding multiple. This approach strikes a balanced compromise between a limited and excessively large number of scenarios. Thus, we opted for blocks comprising 16 scenarios per respondent. A detailed experimental plan can be found in Appendix B, providing further insights into the design and implementation of the study.

3.3.4. Other Variables

The dependent variable focused on the propensity to choose corporate behavior, specifically the preference for either common or private benefit behavior when collaborating with other companies. Respondents were asked to indicate their preferred option in working with other companies. To ensure the validity of our findings, we included several control variables at both the individual and firm levels. At the individual level, we considered factors such as work experience (measured in years), gender, and managerial position (categorized as low, middle, and top management). These variables were included to account for differences in professional expertise and knowledge, as well as potential biases related to gender and organizational hierarchy. At the firm level, we controlled for the nature of the firm, industry affiliation, and size, as these characteristics can influence decision-making processes and behavioral preferences. To maintain balance in our policy-capturing (PC) design, we assigned sub-module evaluations to respondents, ensuring an equal number of evaluations for each scenario. However, due to inconsistencies observed in some questionnaires during the test-retest process, we excluded certain respondents, potentially resulting in an unbalanced final dataset. To address this, we included block dummies as controls in our analysis [69].

3.4. Data Collection and Analysis

The reliability of the data collection process is crucial for ensuring the integrity of the findings [66]. In this study, the dependent variable focused on the propensity to choose between common and private benefits. Respondents were asked to indicate their preferences on a scale, with most scenarios requiring them to rank one option as high and the other as low. However, extreme scenarios could result in double-low or double-high judgments. To enhance data reliability, we implemented the following measures.

Prior to distributing the questionnaire on a large scale, we conducted a pre-test with 27 senior managers from various firms. This phase allowed us to refine the questionnaire’s wording and familiarize ourselves with conducting face-to-face interviews. During the pre-test, respondents were asked to rank six situational elements based on their importance in influencing benefit behavior choices. The results revealed that relational trust was ranked highest, followed by calculative trust. This feedback helped us improve the questionnaire and distribution process. On average, each pre-test interview took approximately 63 min. Furthermore, we found that creating an experimental scenario through one-on-one communication facilitated a more precise and efficient understanding of the experiment’s purpose. This approach proved to be an essential strategy for refining the questionnaire.

In this study, the analysis was conducted at the scenario level. Each respondent evaluated a randomly selected subset of 16 scenarios from one of the four assigned modules. Given that each respondent analyzed a subset of scenarios, the responses within each individual’s subset are likely to be correlated. To assess this interdependence, we calculated the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). The ICC (1,1) value, representing the degree of dependence among all observations, was found to be 0.11. Additionally, considering both blocks and scenarios, the ICC (2,1) ranged from 0.11 (block 2) to 0.16 (block 4). These results indicate that 11–16% of the variance in respondents’ benefit behavior choices can be attributed to individual differences, while 84–89% can be attributed to the operational scenarios. The detailed results of the ICC analysis can be found in Appendix C, providing further insights into the data.

4. Results

4.1. Descriptive Statistical Analysis

The final sample for analysis consisted of 2048 valid behavioral decision outcomes obtained from 128 key informants. Among these outcomes, 47% (963) of the scenarios indicated a preference for developing private benefits, 40% (819) indicated a preference for developing common benefits, and 13% (266) showed no significant decision preferences. Since our main model incorporated individual fixed effects, individual-level covariates were not included in these models. Descriptive information and the correlation between the dependent and independent variables can be found in

Table 2. Correlations between dependent and independent variables.

Variables	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
1. PB vs. CB
2. PB	0.27 (0.00)
3. CB	−0.44 (0.00)	0.74 (0.00)
4. CT	0.12 (0.00)	0.44 (0.00)	0.32 (0.00)
5. RT	−0.09 (0.00)	0.37 (0.00)	0.40 (0.00)	0.02 (0.52)
6. Independence	−0.01 (0.68)	0.28 (0.00)	0.26 (0.00)	−0.02 (0.51)	−0.01 (0.77)
7. Closure	−0.06 (0.02)	0.31 (0.00)	0.33 (0.00)	0.04 (0.11)	−0.01 (0.67)	0.02 (0.53)
8. Interaction	−0.00 (0.96)	0.22 (0.00)	0.21 (0.00)	−0.02 (0.35)	−0.01 (0.75)	0.00 (0.90)	0.01 (0.63)
9. Time	0.01 (0.67)	0.22 (0.00)	0.20 (0.00)	0.01 (0.79)	0.00 (0.95)	0.00 (0.97)	0.01 (0.80)	−0.01 (0.72)
M	0.38	8.08	7.70	0.44	0.50	0.49	0.51	0.52	0.52
s.d.	2.29	3.08	3.30	0.50	0.50	0.50	0.50	0.50	0.50

PB: private benefits, CB: common benefits, PB vs. CB: Preference for private benefit behavior, M: mean; s.d.: standard deviation.

. The scenario was considered to be the unit of analysis.

The correlation analysis revealed several significant findings that align with our expectations. Calculative trust demonstrated a positive relationship with private corporate benefit behaviors, while relational trust exhibited a positive relationship with common corporate benefits. Additionally, interdependence, interaction, closure, and time showed significant correlations with corporate development benefits. However, none of these factors demonstrated a significant correlation with behavioral preferences for corporate interests. These findings provide valuable insights into the relationships between trust mechanisms, situational factors, and corporate benefit behaviors.

4.2. Seemingly Uncorrelated Regression (SUR) Results Analysis

To examine the hypotheses, three models were formulated in this study. Model 1 and Model 2 investigated the impact of the six situational factors on firms’ private and common benefit behaviors, respectively. Model 3 explored the differential effects of these factors when firms faced comparative choices between private and common benefit behaviors. Given the research question, a seemingly uncorrelated regression (SUR) model was selected as the main test model, aligning well with the PC approach. The decision to use the SUR model was based on two considerations. Firstly, the primary focus of this study is to understand the underlying mechanisms by which different dimensions of trust influence preferences for corporate benefit behaviors. Traditional methods can assess the positive or negative effects of trust on corporate behaviors, but they struggle to disentangle the relevant factors when examining the preference for benefit behavior choice. The PC method provides a valuable avenue for researchers to simulate realistic scenarios as closely as possible. Secondly, the SUR model was chosen because it effectively captures the degree of influence that multiple independent variables have on a dependent variable, thereby enabling us to test the combined effect of various factors (such as calculative trust, relational trust, interdependence, closure, interaction, and time) on the preferences for corporate benefit behavior. The estimation results of the three models can be found in

Table 3. Results of Seemingly Unrelated Regression Estimation.

	Model 1 Private Benefits	Model 2 Common Benefits	Model 3 PB vs. CB
Calculative trust	2.65 (0.10) [2.46; 0.00]	2.06 (0.12) [1.84; 0.00]	0.59 (0.12) [0.36; 0.00]
Relational trust	2.26 (0.10) [2.06; 0.00]	2.67 (0.12) [2.44; 0.00]	−0.41 (0.11) [−0.64; 0.00]
Independence	1.72 (0.10) [1.52; 0.00]	1.76 (0.12) [1.53; 0.00]	−0.04 (0.11) [−0.26; 0.75]
Closure	1.77 (0.10) [1.58; 0.00]	2.08 (0.12) [1.85; 0.00]	−0.31 (0.11) [−0.53; 0.01]
Interaction	1.42 (0.10) [1.22; 0.00]	1.41 (0.12) [1.18; 0.00]	0.01 (0.11) [−0.22; 0.94]
Time	1.33 (0.10) [1.14; 0.00]	2.10 (0.12) [1.06; 0.00]	0.05 (0.11) [−0.18; 0.67]
Observations	2048

Raw coefficient (standard errors in parentheses) [95% confidence intervals in brackets]; PB vs. CB: Preference for private benefit behavior; N = 2048, exact p-values in parentheses.

. The utilization of the SUR model, in conjunction with the PC approach, enhances the robustness and accuracy of our analysis, offering valuable insights into the relationships among trust dimensions, situational factors, and preferences for corporate benefit behaviors.

First, let us discuss the findings from Model 1, Model 2, and Model 3. Examining Model 1 and Model 2, we observe that when individually assessing the influence of calculative trust and relational trust on firms’ inclination to engage in private versus common benefit behaviors, there is no significant distinction in the impact of these two trust dimensions on firm behaviors. However, when firms are confronted with the comparative choice between private and common benefit behaviors, the different types of trust exhibit a significant impact on their benefit behaviors.

H1 proposes a positive relationship between calculative trust and the likelihood of firms engaging in private and common benefit behaviors. As indicated in Model 1 of Table 3, the coefficients for calculative trust and relational trust show positive and significant values when transitioning from 0 to 1, demonstrating the positive influence of both types of trust on firms’ engagement in private benefit behaviors. Specifically, the values for private benefit behaviors are 9100 (980 questionnaires) and 7140 (1068 questionnaires) when calculative trust is significant/insignificant, with mean values of 9.29 and 6.69, respectively. Similarly, when examining relational trust, the values for private benefit behaviors are 9071 (1005 questionnaires) and 7169 (1043 questionnaires) when relational trust is significant/insignificant, with mean values of 9.03 and 6.87, as illustrated in Figure 2A. These findings are consistent with H1. Likewise, Model 2 in Table 3 demonstrates that the coefficients for common benefit behaviors are positive and significant as both calculative trust and relational trust change from 0 to 1, validating the positive impact of these trust dimensions on common benefit behaviors. The values for common benefit behaviors are 8684 (980 questionnaires) and 7235 (1068 questionnaires) when calculative trust is significant/insignificant, with mean values of 8.86 and 6.77, respectively. Moreover, when examining relational trust, the values for common benefit behaviors are 9352 (1005 questionnaires) and 6567 (1043 questionnaires) when relational trust is significant/insignificant, with a mean value of 9.31 and 6.30, as depicted in Figure 2B. These findings provide support for H1 and H3.

Model 3 in Table 3 was employed to test H2 and H4, which examine the differential impact of calculative trust and relational trust on the comparative choice between private and common benefit behaviors. H2 proposes that calculative trust is more strongly associated with private benefit behaviors than with common benefit behaviors. Model 3 reveals a significant positive coefficient for calculative trust when considering the difference between common benefit behavior and private benefit behavior. As shown in Figure 2C, the difference between private and common benefit behaviors is 560 (980 questionnaires) and −60 (1068 questionnaires) when calculative trust is significant/insignificant, with mean values of 0.57 and −0.06, respectively, supporting H2. Similarly, H4 suggests that relational trust exhibits a stronger association with common benefit behavior compared to private benefit behavior. Model 3 demonstrates a significant negative coefficient for relational trust in this context. The difference between private and common benefit behaviors is −112 (1005 questionnaires) and 612 (1043 questionnaires) when relational trust is significant/insignificant, with mean values of −0.11 and 0.59, as depicted in Figure 2, providing support for H4.

Both private and common benefit behaviors are essential for promoting the sustainability of corporate cooperation, and the relationship between these two behaviors is crucial for cooperation’s sustainability. The aforementioned data results confirm that calculative trust can foster both private and common benefit behaviors, with a significant preference for private benefit behaviors. In contrast, relational trust can facilitate both private and common benefit behaviors, with a significant preference for common benefit behaviors. When firms and their partners have imbalanced benefit behaviors, it can lead to competitive behaviors and undermine a cooperation’s sustainability. By recognizing the distinct preferences of calculative trust and relational trust for benefit behaviors, firms can make improved choices and achieve a balanced state of private and common benefit behaviors.

Furthermore, we acknowledge that trust relationship considerations do not solely represent the reality of the decision-making environment, but they are also correlated with the state of cooperation between firms. For instance, the presence of exclusive inter-organizational relationships is highly relevant when firms face the choice of benefit behavior. Exclusivity positively influences firms’ inclination to engage in common benefit behaviors and negatively affects their propensity to choose private benefit behaviors. This, in turn, enhances confidence in inter-firm cooperation and maintains established patterns of cooperation. Additionally, we examined the effects of several key control variables on the results. Our analysis reveals that length of experience positively promotes firms’ preferences for common benefit behaviors, while gender is not significantly related to benefit behavior choices. Furthermore, management position positively influences firms’ preference for common benefit behaviors. Regarding the nature of firms, private firms demonstrate a significant relationship with preferences for private benefit behaviors, while state-owned firms exhibit a significant relationship with preferences for common benefit behaviors. There is no significant relationship between corporate industry and preference for corporate benefit behaviors.

4.3. Robustness Tests

In the final phase, we conducted a robustness check to examine potential priming and fatigue effects. We estimated 16 separate multinomial logit models, with each model focusing on the respondent’s responses to a set of four consecutive scenarios in the experiment. It is important to note that these models have certain limitations. Since each individual was surveyed only once in each model, we were unable to use fixed effects. However, we included the control variables described earlier to account for individual-level variations. Additionally, due to the random ordering of scenarios within blocks, there may be some imbalance in the sets of scenarios within the models. Nonetheless, among the 32 instances analyzed, we observed only three exceptions in terms of the simple main effect, specifically regarding the impact of calculative trust and relational trust on common versus private benefit behaviors. Furthermore, the later positional models were more likely to detect the more significant information regarding the differential effect of calculative trust and relational trust on common/private benefit behaviors. Nevertheless, the disparities observed between the early and later models were minimal. Therefore, we interpret these findings as further supporting our conclusions and the reliability of the scenario experiments. The deterministic coefficients for calculative trust and relational trust in these analyses can be found in Appendix D.

5. Discussion

Our research contributes to the existing literature on strategy management and the sustainability of corporate cooperation. We address the significant divergence in benefit behavior exhibited by firms in corporate cooperation, which is a key factor leading to unsustainable cooperation. In this study, we provide further insights by (a) identifying two distinct types of trust mechanisms, namely calculative trust and relational trust, based on differences in the sources of trust, which have varying effects on firms’ benefit behavior choices, and (b) implementing and rigorously testing our proposed mechanisms using a strategy capture approach. Previous research on the relationship between trust and firms’ benefit behavioral strategies has been characterized by substantial disagreement and contradictions since Zollo, Reuer, and Singh’s (2002) seminal work on the effects of trust on firms’ benefit behavioral strategy choices [6,8,9]. Our study complements this research by comparing how different types of trust influence the development of firms’ benefit behaviors in cooperation and their preferences for benefit behavior strategies. We find that, as hypothesized, calculative trust facilitates subsequent corporate common and private benefit behaviors, with a significantly stronger effect on private benefit behavior relative to common benefit behaviors. Similarly, relational trust stimulates subsequent corporate common benefit behavior and willingness to engage in private benefit behaviors, with a stronger association observed for common benefit behaviors.

Our findings highlight the importance of explicitly considering the heterogeneity of inter-organizational trust relationships in future research. Different types of trust can have differential influences on firms’ preference for benefit-seeking behaviors in inter-organizational cooperation [3]. Calculative trust emphasizes the reduction of information asymmetry between firms to shape their behavioral choices, primarily by providing firms with stable cooperation procedures and effective conflict resolution, thereby reducing the costs associated with opportunistic behavior and corporate frictions. This creates a secure and efficient cooperation environment for firms to develop both private and common benefits [17]. However, calculative trust may struggle to address ambiguities in cooperation, leading firms to favor the development of private benefit behaviors. On the other hand, relational trust emphasizes enhancing mutual coordination between firms by leveraging their communication and cooperation experiences [31]. Relational trust facilitates the exchange of privileged resources and reduces communication costs in cooperation through the use of accumulated cooperative rules, thereby providing favorable conditions for firms to develop common benefit behaviors [16]. Additionally, relational trust promotes transparency in mutual learning among firms and provides opportunities for developing private interests, although to a limited extent, resulting in a greater preference for common benefit behavior [8]. Neglecting alternative mechanisms through which inter-organizational trust influences firm behavior could mask significantly different effects. The sustainability of corporate cooperation hinges on striking a balance between private and common benefit behaviors. Calculative trust and relational trust play pivotal roles in aligning benefit behaviors. Understanding the effects of different types of trust on preferences for corporate benefit behaviors can offer concrete theoretical guidance for enhancing the sustainability of corporate cooperation.

Our study responds to recent calls by scholars to move beyond focusing solely on the factors influencing firms’ choice between common and private benefit behaviors in the cooperation process and to pay closer attention to the factors influencing the relationship between these two benefit behavior strategies. This can provide valuable theoretical guidance for enhancing the sustainability of corporate collaboration [3,4]. While scholars have observed that firms dynamically adjust their benefit behavior strategies in cooperation based on factors such as the cooperation environment and relationship, limited research has specifically explored the choice between common and private benefit behavior strategies of firms [77,78]. Building on Walter et al.’s (2007) initial research on the choice between common and private benefit behaviors, our study addresses previous research gaps by directly comparing the perceived attractiveness of common and private benefit behavior strategies for firms using an experimental approach [26]. Common benefit behavior and private benefit behavior represent forms of governance in corporate cooperation [32]. Our experimental design provides direct evidence for assessing differences in the attractiveness of these two strategies, thus offering a direct test of comparative economic organization theory. In contrast, previous studies have typically analyzed data on realized transactions to identify patterns of actual choices, which has provided indirect evidence for comparative behavioral choice theory but has yielded limited insights.

6. Conclusions

Regarding the managerial implications of our study, we address a fundamental yet significant question: Given the prominent role of trust relationships in shaping corporate benefit behavior strategies (e.g., common vs. private benefits), how can knowledge derived from previous experiences enhance decision-making for managers and potentially even investors? Our study aims to provide valuable insights that can assist senior managers and boards in making informed decisions and avoiding unfavorable outcomes. For instance, when a senior manager in Firm A is tasked with collaborating with Firm B, enterprises can guide their partners’ benefit behavior tendencies by fostering calculative and relational trust, emphasizing contractual rigor, or establishing closer networks of exclusive cooperation. All of these approaches can influence corporate benefit behaviors.

Turning to the limitations of our study, we acknowledge inherent constraints in terms of the number of cues utilized and manipulated. We focused on the three basic mechanisms considered individually or collectively in previous studies, striving to provide a realistic and meaningful decision context for our key informants. Recognizing the importance of incorporating management characteristics into strategic choice models in policy-capturing research, we formed a panel of experts and incorporated individual-level control variables. However, it is important to acknowledge that policy-capturing research relies on hypothetical decision-making scenarios, and we cannot disregard potential disparities compared to decision-making in a natural business environment (external validity).

In terms of future research directions, we identify several avenues worth exploring. First, our findings on specific mechanisms suggest that opening the “black box” of partner-specific inter-organizational relationships could yield broader benefits by considering additional scenario characteristics. This aligns with recent calls for more contingency modeling in strategic research [79]. Besides trust, other factors such as cultural background dimensions may significantly influence firms’ benefit behavior choices. Therefore, we can subsequently investigate the specific mechanisms of these relevant factors on the preference for benefit behavior choices. Second, this paper mentions other factors related to the role of trust, such as interdependence, closure, interaction, and time. These factors can substantially influence the mechanism of trust on benefit behavior, and future studies can incorporate these factors into the same research framework with trust to examine whether and how they moderate the mechanisms of trust’s influence on preferences for benefit behavior.