Abstract: Leveraging external sources of innovation by alliance is an important way to upgrade for Chinese enterprises; however the risks attending the cooperation among partners prevent the formation of the alliance. On the basis of an in-depth study of two alliance cases, this paper develops a theory of alliance formation. This theory can provide insights into how both sides of the alliance achieve agreement for the first-time cooperation under the environment characterized by high uncertainty and transaction-specific investment. In particular, this paper shows that when the contract is not enough to control the opportunism risk, both sides of the alliance turn to the trust to reduce uncertainty. The complementary relation between contract and competence trust can enhance the cooperation confidence, but the strong outcome control of the contract will squeeze out the necessity of the behavior trust.

摘要： 通过联盟合作的方式获取外部技术是中国企业实现转型升级的重要途径，然而合作过程中的机会主义行为和绩效风险导致这种合作关系并不容易形成。利用两个产学研联盟案例的扎根性研究，本文构建了一个基于信心的合作形成理论，这个理论能说明在不确定性和需要专用性投入的交易环境下技术需求企业如何与陌生的合作伙伴达成合作协议。研究发现，当契约不足以控制机会主义风险时，合作双方需要信任减少不确定性，两者的互补关系表现在契约和能力信任共同增强了合作信心，另一方面，由于任务复杂性和共同知识的调节作用，契约也有可能会挤出行为信任的需要。

关键词: 合作, 信心, 契约, 信任