A meta-analytic review of opportunism in exchange relationships

Abstract

The potential to engage in opportunism is a central theme in institutional economics, yet prior research has not quantitatively reviewed the role of opportunism in marketing research. This study uses meta-analytic techniques to synthesize research on opportunism conducted over the last quarter century. The analysis of 183 effect sizes extracted from 54 publications from the period 1982 to 2005 offers some support to extant channel theory. The research also indicates that the informant's frame of reference and the research design significantly influence the observed effects. Implications of the findings and future research directions are discussed.Assumptions made about the nature of human behavior influence insights drawn from investigations of exchange relationships. Although a traditional economic perspective maintains that agents are self-interest seeking (Simon 1978), transaction cost economics assumes that agents are given to act opportunistically. Opportunistic agents offer incomplete or biased information designed to mislead, obfuscate, or otherwise confuse trading partners (Williamson 1985). Their action includes active or passive attempts to violate written or social contracts governing exchange (Wathne and Heide 2000).The assertion that agents act opportunistically has prompted substantial research into channel interaction. Marketing research (e.g., John 1984) maintains that opportunism mitigates relationships between organizational properties and outcomes, yet these studies often produce inconsistent findings. Channel theory would benefit from identification of the nomological network of opportunism as well as the examination of the generalizability of relationships between opportunism and constructs to which it is most frequently related. Prior research has reviewed opportunism (e.g., Wathne and Heide 2000), yet no study has employed quantitative methods to integrate findings across this research. Meta-analysis provides the opportunity to combine results from multiple studies, explain inconsistencies in findings, and examine moderators of theoretical relationships (Rosenthal and DiMatteo 2001). Despite the potential gains, research to date has not employed metaanalytic techniques to examine opportunism.The purpose of this study is to provide a meta-analytic review of opportunism. This study combines multiple theoretical approaches to build an integrative model of opportunism in marketing research. The review identifies and quantifies relationships between opportunism and other theory-based constructs. The results implicate underresearched variables and identify issues studied so extensively that more research is unnecessary. The review also identifies methodological factors that influence empirical results and presents avenues for empirical and theoretical contributions to research.

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“…In that occasion, the firm can be exploited by the partner (Crosno & Dahlstrom, 2008 performance. Based on these points, we hypothesize that:…”

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“…As a result of an extensive literature review in the initial phase of this study, the following factors were examined: Logistics information management (Chouinard et al 2005;Ramirez, 2012), close-loop capability (Bernon et al 2011;Jayant et al 2012), integration capability (Dwyer et al 1987;Liu et al 2013), coordination capability (Cao and Zhang 2011;Crosno and Dahlstrom 2008) institutional incentives (Polák and Drápalová 2012;Franke et al 2006), and conformity capability (Assavapokee and Wongthatsanekorn 2012) were identified.…”