“…The subject of conflict management is largely unexplored in network and district literature, where we often find naive assumptions such as networks being based on trust and mutually accepted norms, implying harmonious relationships (Barabel, Huault, Meier, 2007, Harrison, 1992, despite the inherent tensions rising from simultaneous cooperation and competition (Mascia, Pallotti andAngeli, 2016, Bengtsson, et al, 2016). Institutional theory (Hodgson, 2006), examines at some length the question of agency in relation to norms and we shall endeavour to shed light on the role of locally produced norms in SME managers' behaviour in conflicts in their exchange relationships.…”