@inproceedings{KapmeierStruben2021, author = {Kapmeier, Florian and Struben, Jeroen}, title = {Trust dynamics during early alliance operation : the role of partner engagement}, booktitle = {Academy of Management proceedings, 29 July - 04 August 2021, virtual}, volume = {2021}, number = {1}, issn = {2151-6561}, doi = {10.5465/ambpp.2021.246}, institution = {ESB Business School}, pages = {12647}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Coopetitive endeavors offer valuable strategic options for firms. Yet, many of them are failure-prone as partners must balance collective and private interest. While interpartner trust is considered central for alliance success, paradoxically, the role and dynamics of trust is still not understood. We synthesize a computational model, capturing relational dynamics of an alliance, encompassing coevolution of trust, partner contributions, and (relative) alliance interactions. Analyzing alliance dynamics using simulation we find and explore a tipping boundary, separating a regime of alliance failure and success. We identify implications for collaborative (aspirations) and private strategies (openness). Our analyses reveal that strategies informed by a static mental model of partner trust, contributions, and openness tend to yield subpar alliance results and hidden failure-risk. We discuss implications for management theory.}, language = {en} }