An Empirical Test of the Theory of Relationship Constraints

Agency theory has long been a stalwart of IS research and is one of the most commonly used lenses to study the relationship between a principal and an agent. The Theory of Relationship Constraints (TRC) has recently been recommended as an informationoriented alternative to agency theory. TRC suggests that three attributes (i.e., the level of information asymmetry, levels of tacit and explicit knowledge) affect the perceived efficacy of a relationship constraint. As the first empirical test of TRC, this study uses scenario analysis to show that, as these attributes change, so do the constraints that are perceived as effective. No single constraint, as predicted, is perceived to be universally effective. Under certain conditions, social versus legal constraints have greater perceived efficacy, but this varies with the three attributes. This research provides support for TRC and suggests insights for future research and current practice.