Publications
Publications
  • May 2009
  • Article
  • Harvard Business Review

When Contracts Destroy Trust

By: Deepak Malhotra
  • Format:Print
  • | Pages:1
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Abstract

Contracts exist to foster trust, but they can actually do the opposite. Overly detailed contracts leave no room for spontaneous acts of kindness to create goodwill between parties; too-rigid contracts leave parties unable to respond to the unanticipated; and, strangely enough, incentives can end up being just plain insulting.

Keywords

Contracts; Negotiation; Trust

Citation

Malhotra, Deepak. "When Contracts Destroy Trust." Harvard Business Review 87, no. 5 (May 2009): 25.

About The Author

Deepak Malhotra

Negotiation, Organizations & Markets
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