Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Relational contract theory'

The thesis focuses on the main legacy of the relational contract theory in the context of contract interpretation and its influence on contemporary scholarship. First developed in the United States, the relational contract theory has had a significant resonance within common law countries, emphasizing the importance given to “contextualism” and the “implicit dimensions” of contract, and proving to be one of the most important alternative approaches to the classical law of contracts. Whilst no equivalent doctrinal elaboration can be said to exist within civilian countries, Italian law does recognize rules on contract interpretation that indirectly, and at least partially, reflect some of the main claims of the relational contract theory. These rules, in turn, are necessarily a reflection of the underlying values of a civilian legal system as opposed to the common law ones, which opt traditionally for a view of the contractual relationship as mainly “adversarial” rather than “cooperative” in character. The study of the relational contract theory may therefore serve as a testing ground for any legal system, posing the choice between a “drastic” reform of the classical common law precepts of contract law and its underlying ethic, or the welcoming of a contextual approach which does not completely discard the current model in place.

This paper addresses the meaning of the phrase 'good faith' where it appears in the express terms of a commercial contract. The purpose of this paper is to set out a methodology by which courts can consistently and predictably interpret the meaning of express obligations of good faith. It will be demonstrated that, by considering certain common contractual characteristics, a court can interpret such terms with greater fidelity to the parties' objectively ascertained intentions, in a way that is both reasoned and reasonable…

Contracts capture an agreement between two parties to exchange a resource in the future (ex-ante), however the future is not certain. Only after the event has happened, might the two parties compare the resources they have received to what they expected (ex-post). Entering into a contract with unknowns gives rise to incomplete contracts theory, the focus of which includes the study of human behavior. Relational contracting is currently being studied as a method of reducing the transaction costs and incompleteness of contracts. Using case studies, this research aimed to reach a conclusion regarding why certain contractual projects run over budget. Overruns are often related to a variation agreement that is incomplete and open to interpretation. Understanding what the issues are and how to mitigate contractual risks was thus a key focus of this research. The research examined two industries - construction and IT. From the case studies, 16 interviews were conducted and 12 contracts reviewed. The least concern for all the parties was disputes, as the parties find solutions to address issues not considered when drafting contracts. Industry specific experience and knowledge is needed to mitigate some unknown contractual risks, however. Relational contracting was also very evident in resolving issues outside of a contract. Further studies into ancillary contracts will reveal more insight into behavioural and relational contracting.
Dissertation(MBA)--Gordon Institute of Business Science, University of Pretoria,2018.
Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS)
MBA
Unrestricted

La relation entre les traites internationaux d’investissement et les contrats sous-jacents reste un sujet très contentieux dans le domaine du droit international de l’investissement. Cette thèse explore l’interaction entre le contrat et le traité en utilisant la renégociation des contrats règlementaires dans le secteur de l’infrastructure énergétique comme un exemple d’ « expérience naturelle », en se focalisant en particulier sur les litiges arbitraux découlant de la crise économique en Argentine. A cette fin, un cadre analytique original, s’inspirant de l’économie des coûts de transaction et la théorie du contrat relationnel. Le résultat de la combinaison originelle de ces deux cadres analytiques est la construction d’une méthodologie interprétative proposant une approche d’intégration entre les deux instruments – le contrat et le traité – d’une manière apportant plus d’équilibre entre les intérêts publics et privés souvent opposés. La thèse est fondée en particulier sur trois arguments : le premier est la nature des standards dynamiques des traités comme contrats relationnels exigeant la coopération des parties à long terme. Le deuxième est le statut de ces standards vagues comme règles par défaut, complémentés par les provisions des contrats sous-jacents, qui sont aussi relationnels et fonctionnent comme « gap fillers ». Le dernier argument, normatif, est que la relation entre ces règles (par défaut) des traites et les provisions contractuels doit être déterminée par l’économie des coûts de transaction, et en particulier le but d’économiser les coûts de transaction découlant de la rationalité limitée et l’opportunisme durant l’interprétation des standards relationnels des traités
The relationship between international investment treaties and the underlying contracts remains a highly disputed matter in international investment law. This thesis explored the contract-treaty interaction by using the renegotiation of regulatory contracts in the sector of energy infrastructure as a natural experiment, with a particular emphasis on the arbitral disputes that arose from the Argentine crisis. It deployed to this end an original analytical framework drawing from transaction cost economics and relational contract theory. The result of the novel combination of these two analytical frameworks is the construction of an interpretative methodology that takes an integrated approach to the two instruments – the contract and the overarching treaty – in a way that achieves a more sustainable balance between the competing public and private interests. In particular, the thesis rests on three arguments: the first is the relational-contract nature of dynamic treaty standards, which require the long-term cooperation of the parties. The second is the status of these vague standards as default rules complemented by the provisions of the underlying contracts, which are also relational, and act as gap-fillers. The last, normative argument is that the relationship between these (default) treaty rules and the (gap-filling) contractual provisions should be determined by transaction cost economics, and specifically the goal of economizing on the transaction costs of bounded rationality and opportunism when and interpreting relational treaty standards

In recent years commentators have suggested that the law of contract is experiencing something of a legitimation crisis. Whilst the classical contract paradigm remains a compelling default model underpinning contract law it is seen as increasingly remote from commercial practice. Legal scholars have variously described contract theory and doctrine as incoherent, piecemeal or in a state of flux. In spite of these issues having been well aired by academics, and the judiciary, no compelling alternative model seems to have emerged. This thesis explores these issues through a unique in-depth examination and application of lan Macneil's relational contract scholarship and the literature upon which he drew. Through a holistic reading of his opus and an innovative interrogation of his ideas in the context of the development of the classical contract model and real-life commercial contracting practice, I reveal how the outstanding explanatory force of Macneil's ideas can be applied to the widest possible range of contemporary contract problems and give doctrine a new intellectual coherence. I go on to present one of the first practical demonstrations of how relational contract ideas can be applied to contract formation and implication doctrines in the English jurisdiction by showing how a key commercial contract case could have been decided differently using relational reasoning. My research concludes that Macneil offers a distinct, robust method to analyse contract that poses a serious and credible challenge to the classical contract idea(l). In order to be conceptually unified, doctrinally consistent, and thus widely credible contract law must more effectively reflect the wide vista of commercial contract behaviour. I submit that contract law can no longer be legitimate when underpinned solely by the insignificant number of transactions that may vaguely fit discrete transactional concepts. Contract can be reunified by reconceptualising principles, doctrine, legal reasoning and contracting practice as relational.

La présente étude entend montrer comment les objectifs définis par la science économique peuvent contribuer à l'évolution du droit du contrat. Dans un premier temps, nous montrerons pourquoi et comment la conception du contrat doit évoluer en suivant les évolutions des théories économiques. Nous démontrerons que le contrat, en tant que cadre juridique des relations économiques, ne peut effectuer sa fonction principale, qui est d'assurer l'efficience des relations économiques, que si sa conception est fondée sur les résultats obtenus en science économiques. Nous proposons alors une nouvelle conception qui repose sur l'approche relationnelle du contrat. Dans un second temps, nous montrerons comment la quête de la justice sociale a pu faire évoluer la conception de la justice contractuelle. Le sens de cette évolution est, d'une part, de l'indifférence du droit à l'égard de la question de l'équilibre contractuel vers les interventions, directes ou indirectes, dans ce domaine et, d'autre part, de la justice commutative au sein d'un seul contrat isolé vers la promotion de la justice sociale en intervenant dans les relations contractuelles
The present study aims to show how the objectives defined by the economic science may contribute to the evolution of the contract law. First, it shows why and how the conception of contract should be changed following the evolution of economic theories. We demonstrate that the contract, as a legal framework for the economical relations, may fulfil its principal function, which is to assure the efficiency of the economic relations, only if its conception is based on the economic findings. Thus, we propose a new conception which is based on the relational approach to contract. Then, we will show how the quest for social justice has changed the conception of contractual justice. The direction of this evolution is, on the one hand, from indifference of law regarding the contractual balance towards the direct or indirect interventions, and, in the other hand, from commutative justice in one isolated contract to the promotion of social justice by intervening in the contractual relations

Service level agreements (SLAs) for complex IT-intensive business-to-business (CITI-B2B) services are high-level representations of services to be enacted, with predominantly quantifiable performance targets. Inevitably, there is a gap between this representation and the nuanced practices of enactment adapting to emergent conditions over time. Overarching terms in the master agreement anticipate this gap; however, the nature of the practices that manage that gap is not well understood. This study aims to develop a deeper understanding of these everyday practices to identify potential areas for improving value realisation in SLA enactment. We conducted a long-term ethnographic study of the enactment of an SLA by a global IT provider and global financial services company, framed by relational theory of contract. Our analysis showed the gap was bridged by a cycle of enactment in which emergent conditions triggered relational interactions among participants, culminating in decisions to adapt the terms of the SLA in pursuit of value realisation. Further, our analysis showed that this cycle is enabled by informal mechanisms of learning, negotiating, and adapting that we conceptualise as relational capability, which is amenable to representation, refinement, innovation, and capability development. Exploiting this capability and as well as the information produced during the cycle of enactment could inform SLA design and enable the transformation of SLAs as evolving learning instruments.

Le contrat de franchise organise la transmission d'un savoir-faire et prépare la réitération d'un succès commercial. Compte tenu de la nature complexe de la prestation caractéristique, les parties au contrat deviennent au fil du temps des véritables partenaires, si bien que le contrat de franchise acquiert une dimension relationnelle. Malgré cette spécificité, le droit français appréhende encore le contrat de franchise en utilisant le modèle cognitif classique offert par la théorie générale du contrat. Une telle démarche risque d'ignorer la réalité des problèmes que les partenaires peuvent rencontrer, ce qui peut conduire à l'application de solutions inadaptées. La proposition d'une analyse relationnelle vise à réduire un tel risque. En se fondant principalement sur les travaux de la doctrine nord-américaine, l'analyse relationnelle séduit de plus en plus les juristes français notamment parce que les raisonnements proposés sont souvent compatibles avec le droit positif. En envisageant le contrat de franchise grâce à la grille de lecture fournie par l'analyse relationnelle, il devient possible d'appréhender l'intégralité du contexte dans lequel ce contrat s'insère et de proposer des règles de droit en harmonie avec les besoins et préoccupations des partenaires contractuels
The franchise agreement organizes the transmission of trade secrets and business plans. Given the complex nature of this performance , the contracting parties over time become true partners , so that the franchise agreement acquires a relational dimension. Despite the existence of a relational dimension, French contract law still rule the franchise agreement using the standard cognitive model offered by classic contract theory. Such an approach risks ignoring the real problems that partners can meet , which may lead to the application of inappropriate solutions. The proposal for a relational analysis aims to reduce such a risk. Based largely on the work of the North American contract law doctrine , the relational analysis is attracting more and more French scholars especially because the proposed arguments follow the French legal system's evolution. The relational analysis allows us to understand the franchise agreement's context and propose solutions in harmony with the needs and concerns of contractual partners

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This work is an empirical study of the contractual practices adopted by Embraer after its privatization in 1994. We also analyze the contractual arrangement used to enable the aircrafts’ projects that were responsible for the company's resurgence in the late 1990s. A fundamental aspect of the contractual engineering efforts was the creation of Risk-Partnerships between Embraer and a selected group of key suppliers to co-develop an aircraft. The analysis of the collected data, points to the epistemological relevancy of using new analytical tools to understand the contractual practices that have been employed and its role in development. Therefore, we adopt the relational contract theory as a theoretical lens to analyze the risk-partnership model and investigate the role played by relational elements in the success of the ERJ 145 and EMBRAER 170/190 programs. The central hypothesis that guides this work states that, in the innovative contractual arrangement involving Embraer, foreign suppliers and BNDES, the contractual relationship was built through promissory and non-promissory mechanisms that have projected the exchange, and the patterns of normativity that were created transcended the written contract. The contribution of relational contract theory to the analysis of such practices is twofold. The first contribution is mainly descriptive, as it provides more comprehensive and powerful theoretical tools to understand the real dynamics of the contractual practices that have been studied. The second contribution, of a normative kind, consists in clarifying the relational aspects that compose, alongside promissory elements, a certain internal normativity to the contract, which regulates the agents’ conduct throughout the relationship. On the ERJ 145 and EMBRAER 170/90 programs, we try to demonstrate that (more) relational contractual arrangements, instead of conventional discrete contractual supplying relationships, were critical to the success of the projects and even for their own feasibility. In this sense, relational contracts theory provides analytical categories that not only offer more adequate theoretical tools to describe relationships such as the one under study, but also provides, through a more rich and comprehensive description, lessons on how to design contracts. This is important to demonstrate how the problem of the implicit dimensions of contracts transcends the field of contract theory and contractual justice and becomes highly relevant to the research agenda in the Law and Development field.
O presente trabalho é um estudo empírico das práticas contratuais adotadas pela EMBRAER posteriormente ao seu processo de privatização em 1994, e do arranjo contratual empregado para viabilizar a realização dos projetos de aeronaves responsáveis pelo ressurgimento da empresa ao final da década 1990. Aspecto fundamental da engenharia contratual empreendida foi a formação das chamadas Parcerias de Risco entre a Embraer e um grupo selecionado de fornecedores-chave visando o co-desenvolvimento das aeronaves. A análise das informações obtidas na pesquisa aponta a importância epistemológica de se utilizar novos instrumentos de análise que permitam compreender melhor as práticas contratuais empregadas e seu papel no desenvolvimento. Assim, utilizamos a teoria relacional dos contratos como lente teórica para analisar o modelo de parcerias de risco e, por meio dela, investigar qual o papel exercido pelos elementos relacionais no sucesso dos programas ERJ 145 e EMBRAER 170/190. A hipótese central que norteia o trabalho é a de que, no inovador arranjo contratual que envolveu a Embraer, fornecedores estrangeiros e o BNDES, a relação contratual foi construída por meio de mecanismos promissórios e não-promissórios de projeção de trocas, e os padrões de normatividade estabelecidos entre as partes transcenderam o contrato escrito. A contribuição da teoria relacional dos contratos para a análise de tais práticas possui duplo caráter. A primeiro contribuição é eminentemente descritiva, ao fornecer um instrumental teórico mais abrangente e poderoso para compreender a real dinâmica das práticas contratuais em análise. A segunda contribuição, de natureza normativa, consiste em explicitar aspectos relacionais que compõem, juntamente com os elementos promissórios, uma certa normatividade interna ao contrato que informa a conduta dos agentes ao longo da relação. Nos programas ERJ 145 e EMBRAER 170/90, procuramos demonstrar como a formulação de um arranjo contratual mais relacional em substituição ao tradicional conjunto de relações contratuais de fornecimento descontínuas, foi fundamental para o sucesso dos projetos e até mesmo para a sua própria viabilização. Nesse sentido, a teoria relacional dos contratos fornece categorias de análise que não apenas oferecem um ferramental teórico mais adequado para descrever relações como a do caso em estudo, mas também fornece, por meio de uma descrição mais rica e abrangente, lições sobre como desenhar contratos. Isto é importante para demonstrar como a problemática das dimensões implícitas do contratos transcende o campo da teoria contratual e da justiça contratual e apresenta-se de grande relevância para a agenda de pesquisa em Direito e Desenvolvimento.

As Australian workplace laws have evolved over the last century, the legal principles applying to the nature of relationships between Australian churches and their clergy have become subject to a degree of uncertainty. In the current political and legal environment it is desirable that this uncertainty be removed and that there be clarity as to the standing and accountability of clergy. This thesis identifies a theoretical framework from which some insight can be drawn that can help Churches adopt appropriate methods of appointing clergy that align with their theological beliefs while anticipating the direction of the law.

I ett försök att öka innovation och produktivitet i byggsektorn, lade Trafikverket om sitt arbetssätt till en ökad andel totalentreprenader. Detta för att ge entreprenörer ett större och längre helhetsansvar för  projektens  utformning.  Detta  i  sin  tur  påverkar  konsultverksamheter  inom  branschen.  Skiftet  i  entreprenadform resulterar i att konsultbolag inom projektering har fått en större andel entreprenörer  som  kunder  att  förhålla  sig  till.  Detta  arbete  är  skrivet  i  samarbete  med  ett  konsultbolag inom samhällsbyggnad, där främst tre beställartyper förekommer; Trafikverket, kommuner  och  entreprenörer.  Den  sistnämnda  kundtypen  förekommer  i  dagsläget  mer  frekvent,  efter Trafikverkets omstrukturering. Relationen mellan konsult och beställare är viktig för att uppdrag mellan parterna ska nå framgång. En nyckelroll i detta samarbete, från konsultens sida, är uppdragsledaren. Syftet med denna studie är att redogöra för uppdragsledares relation till de tre beställartyperna, med kontraktet som grund för relationen. Sammantaget förväntas detta mynna ut i riktlinjer för uppdragsledning och bibehållande av gott samarbete mellan konsult och beställare på konsultbolaget. För att studera relationen användes kontraktsrelationsteori som teoretiskt ramverk. För att tillgodose studiens  syfte  genomfördes  först  en  litteraturstudie  och  sedan  en  intervjustudie  där  respondenter  med lång erfarenhet av uppdragsledning intervjuades. Frågeformuläret för dessa intervjuer upprättades  med  bakgrund  av  det  teoretiska  ramverket,  där  fokus  låg  på  de  relationella  kontraktsnormerna. Ur intervjuer framkom fyra teman som är viktiga i samspelet mellan beställare och konsultbolag; Uppdragsledarrollen, Uppdraget, Kontraktet och Relationen. Relationen mellan uppdragsledaren och dess motpart hos beställaren är komplex. På grund av denna komplexitet är det svårt att generalisera kring förhållningssättet mot beställaren baserat endast på beställartyp. Andra  parametrar  som  tycks  spela  in  är  uppdragens  storlek,  beställarens  förmåga  att  uppskatta omfattningen, samt i vilken fas beställarens projekt befinner sig i. En påtaglig skillnad går att finna i hur man arbetar mot entreprenör kontra Trafikverket och kommun. Denna beställartyp är mer kostnadsstyrd och projekterar ofta närmre produktionsstart. Att arbeta relationsbyggande med alla beställartyper är av stor vikt, då ett lyckat resultat bygger på ett  bra  samarbete  mellan  människorna  i  uppdraget.  I  nya  relationer  är  detta  arbete  ofta  mer  omfattande än då det redan finns ett tidigare etablerat förtroende mellan parterna.
In  an  attempt  to  increase  innovation  and  productivity  in  the  construction  sector,  Trafikverket  changed the work procedure to include a larger share of design-­‐build contracts. This was done in an effort to give the contractors a greater overall responsibility as to how the projects would turn out. This  change  in  work  procedure  has  also  had  an  effect  on  the  consulting  business  within  the  same  sector. The change in type of contract results in a larger share of contractors as clients to the consulting firms. This report has been written in collaboration with a consulting firm which operates in  the  Civil  Engineering  sector,  on  the  department  Construction.  The  department  has  three  major  types of clients; Trafikverket (Swedish Transport Administration), municipalities and contractors, with the last one mentioned being more prevalent since the change in work procedure from Trafikverket. The relationship between consultant and client is crucial for a project to be successful. The project manager  has  an  essential  role  in  this  matter.  The  purpose  of  this  study  is  to  portray  how  the  relationship between the project manager and the three different client types looks, with the contract as a foundation for the relation. This is expected to result in guidelines for the future, both concerning project management and how to retain a reliable collaboration between consultant and client. Relational  Contract  Theory  has  been  used  as  the  foundation  to  study  the  aforementioned  relationship. To properly answer the purpose, a literary study has been done, followed by an interview  study  where  the  respondents  have  a  long  history  concerning  project  management.  The  questionnaire used for the interviews has been based on the Relational Contract Theory, with focus on the relational contract norms.  From the interviews, four themes important to the collaboration  between client and consultant emerged; the Role of the Project Manager, the Assignment, the Contract and the Relation. The relationship between the project manager and its counterpart on the client side is complex. It is because of this complexity hard to generalize the approach based solely on the type of client. Other parameters also relevant are the scope of the project, the client’s ability to estimate the scope and what phase the project itself is in. There is a significant difference when working with contractors as opposed to Trafikverket or municipalities. This type of client has a larger focus on the cost and often a project planning closer to the production. To build a relationship with every type of client is of great importance, since a successful project is based  on  the  cooperation  between  the  people  involved  in  the  project.  This  effort  to  build  a  relationship is often more comprehensive when working with new clients as opposed to older ones where a mutual trust has already been built.

This dissertation contains three essays on self-enforcing implicit contracts in economic transactions and politics. Chapter 2 studies a repeated agency model with two tasks where the agent has private information on the first task and there is no verifiable performance signal for the second task. The equilibrium level of the first task is determined so as to guarantee the credibility of the relational contracts to provide incentives for the second task. It implies interesting economic results including non-monotonic relation between the discount factor and the total surplus, social desirability of unverifiability, and implications for organization design. Chapter 3 studies a model of political contribution of dynamic common agency where state-contingent agreements must be self-enforced. First, we investigate the punishment strategy for supporting the self-enforcing mechanism. The most severe punishment strategy on the principals takes the form of a two-phase scheme in general. Second, we characterize the payoff set of the equilibria on which the same decision is chosen by the agent through implicit agreements and examine whether it can achieve the same payoff as in the standard static menu auction model. It implies that there could be an equilibrium outcome in a static menu auction that cannot be supported in our model for any discount factor. Chapter 4 studies repeated political competition with policy-motivated citizen candidates. The dynamic relationship could cause strategic candidacy in two-candidate competition, such as in circumstances where two candidates stand for election and one of them has no chance to win. The candidate can choose her implementing policy depending on the set of the rival candidates in the election and the rival candidate actually has an incentive to stand even with no chance to win since it can induce policy compromises from the winning candidate.

京都大学
0048
新制・課程博士
博士(工学)
甲第21725号
工博第4542号
新制||工||1708(附属図書館)
京都大学大学院工学研究科都市社会工学専攻
(主査)教授 小林 潔司, 教授 大津 宏康, 教授 山田 忠史
学位規則第4条第1項該当
Doctor of Philosophy (Engineering)
Kyoto University
DFAM

This dissertation provides new contributions on air transport economics with respect to the issue of vertical relations between airports and airlines. Chapter 1 provides an interpretive review of models of airport-airline interaction. While assessing how deregulation of the airline market and privatization of airports create the incentives for airport-airline interaction, and which are the different forms of cooperation observed in practice, particular attention is payed on models used to represent formally vertical relations between airports and carriers. Moreover, if the vertical structure approach has become standard in air transport research, we discuss three elements that still seem to lack of understanding, but we think should be the lines of future research on airports-airlines interaction: (i) incomplete contracts and asymmetric information structure; (ii) upstream horizontal complementarities; (iii) airports as two sided platforms. In Chapter 2 we study airport pricing with aeronautical and concession activities. While assuming that as congestion increases dwell time increases — and so the money spent in concession activities — we incorporate a positive relationship between delay and consumption of concession goods, and the effect of passenger types. We find that: (i) there is a downward correction on the congestion toll due to the positive externality of delay; (ii) the component relevant to the per-passenger benefit from concessions may be a mark-up depending on delay and the passengers’ values of time. Furthermore, a welfare-maximizing airport may have more incentives to induce congestion than a profit-maximizing airport. Chapter 3 investigates contracts between airports and airlines, in the context of two competing facilities and three types of agreements. The downstream market consists in a route operated by one leader and n-1 followers competing à la Stackelberg in each facility. We develop a multistage game where each airport and its dominant airline decide whether to enter into a contract and, if so, which one to engage in. We find that the airport and its dominant airline have incentive to vertical integration in each facility. The merger implies a downstream market foreclosure through a price-squeeze strategy but consumers’ surplus and welfare increase with respect to the case in which no agreement occurs. Thus, the agreement exhibits a trade-off between competitiveness and welfare.

Partant du constat de la récente consécration de la notion d’acte juridique par le code civil, cette thèse s’interroge sur les conséquences de cet avènement par rapport à la notion de contrat. L’auteur commence par montrer que cette adjonction de l’acte juridique au contrat est nécessaire. En effet, comme le montre nettement l’étude de la relation médicale que l’auteur prend comme point de départ, le contrat rencontre des faiblesses techniques et psychosociales, rendant impossible son application dans certaines situations.D’où l’importance, au-delà du contrat, de disposer d’un autre outil : l’acte juridique. Pour que ce dernier soit efficace, il est nécessaire d’approfondir sa définition et de le doter d’un régime propre, distinct du contrat. D’après cette étude, l’acte juridique se définit désormais comme un acte volontaire reconnu dans un ordre juridique comme créant des normes. Plusieurs propriétés de l’acte juridique ont été mises à jour, notamment l’existence de conditions de validité propres tenant à l’exigence d’une volonté non viciée de l’auteur de l’acte et à la licéité des motifs. Bien que ces propriétés aient été dégagées à partir du droit des contrats, il a été vérifié qu’elles pouvaient s’appliquer à l’ensemble des actes juridiques, en passant du consentement de la victime en droit pénal, au mariage, au jugement ou à la loi
On the acknowledgment of the recent consecration of the notion of legal act by the Frencg civil code, the purpose of this thesis is to reflect on the consequence of this evolution on the notion of contract.The author first starts by demonstrating that the addition of the legal act to the contract is necessary. Indeed, a close study of the medical relation shows that the contract has technical and psychosocial weaknesses which make it impossible to be used in some situations. Henceforth the importance of having another tool at one’s disposal, the legal act, likely to take over from the contract. In order to enable thelegal act to sustain the contract, it is yet necessary to reinforce this first concept, going deeper in itsdefinition and giving it its own legal system, separate from the one of the contract. In this work legalwas eventually defined as an act acknowledged in a legal system as creating legal normes. Moreover,several properties have been highlighted, in particular the existence of its own validity conditions, owingfirst to the requirement of the unflawed will of the author of the act and second to the legitimacy of the motives. Although these properties were brought out from contract law, it has been shown that they could apply to all legal acts, from victim consent in criminal law, to marriage, judgment, administrative act or to the law

This article traces different forms of the same present throughout several eras in American political and social history. I focus on two texts, John Locke’s Second Treatise of Government, and Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney’s majority opinion in Dred Scott v. Sandford, in order to examine slavery as a legal institution in the United States, and, in particular, the constitutionality of slavery. Rather than a massive contradiction, the Dred Scott decision is just another iteration of American political and racial philosophy as it was 100, even 200 years earlier. Taney’s opinion is a reflection of what the Lockean social contract came to look like in a racially hierarchized, colonial society. The Dred Scott decision paints one of the most accurate pictures of American political thought but is always written off as nothing but bad law. A close examination of race and social contract theory as they influenced the American Constitution gives insight into more productive ways to talk about race today.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been a subject of increasing interest among academics and business practitioners globally. This thesis contributes to the discourse on CSR in the context of the Nigerian oil industry with regard to corporate-community relations. Specifically, the thesis constitutes a critique of CSR initiatives by multinational oil companies (MOC) operating in the Niger Delta region and their impact on the traditional livelihoods of local communities. The research attempts to understand the link between CSR and Psychological contract from the perspective of both the host communities and the MOCs. This thesis examines community perceptions, expectations and seeks to interpret the relationship between the host communities and the MOCs. The study provides empirical data through the use of twenty-eight semi-structured interviews and three focus groups. This is significant given that most of the research conducted into CSR in this region has been limited to descriptive and extensive theoretical explanations. Findings from the research suggest that the relationship between the host communities and the MOC is a very complex one and that the impact of the MOCs activities can be interpreted from the host communities’ negative actions. The thesis makes an important contribution to the emerging literature on social license to operate (SLO) and in what manner the local communities seek to enforce it. It also offers an alternative approach to CSR based on need assessment and stakeholder involvement rather than corporate obligations and expectations from society in general.

Les travaux en socialisation organisationnelle (SO) au cours des cinq dernières décennies ont davantage été focalisés sur l’approche organisationnelle (Van Maanen et Schein, 1979), individuelle (Louis, 1980)et interactionniste (Reichers, 1987). Quant à l’approche relationnelle, certaines recherches ont considéré les relations avec les agents socialisateurs, comme source d’informations pour les nouveaux salariés (NS)(Bauer et Green, 1998 ; Morrison, 1993), et rarement comme étant une « relation » qui suppose une dynamique, et dans une certaine mesure une réciprocité entre les acteurs (Coyle-Shapiro, et Shore, 2008)..Les relations des nouveaux salariés jouent un rôle clé dans la SO des NS, non seulement pou rl’information qu’elles fournissent (Ostroff et Kozlowski, 1992), mais aussi comme principale source de soutien social (Bauer et Green, 1998). Toutefois, les relations de travail peuvent rendre le processus de SO stressant et difficile (Kammeyer-Mueller et al. 2013, Lapointe, 2013). Nous inscrivons notre recherche dans cette approche, et avons pour ambition de comprendre le rôle des relations de travail dans la SO des NS et ses conséquences. De ce fait, nous nous servons du contrat psychologique (Rousseau,1989) et de la théorie de la conservation des ressources (Hobfoll, 1989) pour saisir les attentes et obligations réciproques dans le cadre des relations de travail, et les conséquences en termes de gain ou de perte de ressources. La démarche qualitative fondée sur une étude de cas multiples nous permet de répondre à nos questions de recherche. Ainsi, nous avons retenus cinq cas d’entreprise en contexte camerounais et avons mené des entretiens semi directifs auprès de 69 nouvelles recrues, et 8 représentants organisationnels. L’analyse des données s’est faite par le biais d’une analyse de contenu thématique(Miles et Huberman, 2003) grâce au logiciel NVIVO 12. Les résultats révèlent que les relations au travail/hors travail ou leur absence conduisent à l’accumulation ou à la perte des ressources personnelles,relationnelles, et organisationnelles. Les ressources spirituelles semblent inépuisables et très utiles en contexte de perte de ressources pour les NS. Les contributions de notre thèse résident principalement dans la mise en exergue d’une typologie des nouveaux salariés socialisées et de la dynamique des ressources qu’ils mobilisent dans les relations de travail
Work in organizational socialization (OS) over the past five decades has focused more on theorganizational (Van Maanen and Schein, 1979), individual (Louis, 1980) and interactionist approach(Reichers, 1987). As for the relational approach, some research has considered relations with socializingagents, as a source of information for new employees (NE) (Bauer and Green, 1998; Morrison, 1993),and rarely as a "relation". which supposes a dynamic, and to a certain extent a reciprocity between theactors (Coyle-Shapiro, and Shore, 2008). New employee relationships play a key role in NE socialization,not only for the information they provide (Ostroff and Kozlowski, 1992), but also as a primary source ofsocial support (Bauer and Green, 1998). However, work relationships can make the process of OSstressful and difficult (Kammeyer-Mueller et al. 2013, Lapointe, 2013). We fit our research into thisapproach, and we aim to understand the role of labor relations in new employee socialization and itsconsequences. Therefore, we use the psychological contract (Rousseau, 1989) and the theory of resourceconservation (Hobfoll, 1989) to understand the reciprocal expectations and obligations in the context oflabor relations, and the consequences in terms of gain or loss of resources. The qualitative approachbased on a multiple case study allows us to answer our research questions. Thus, we selected five businesscases in the Cameroonian context and conducted semi-structured interviews with 69 new recruits, and 8organizational representatives. Data analysis was done through thematic content analysis (Miles andHuberman, 2003) using NVIVO 12 software. The results reveal that work / non-work relationships ortheir absence lead to accumulation or loss of personal, relational, and organizational resources. Spiritualresources seem inexhaustible and very useful in the context of loss of resources for NE. The contributionsof our thesis mainly lie in highlighting a typology of new socialized employees and the dynamics of theresources they mobilize in labor relations

The general framework of this thesis is that of ethical Technology Assessment (eTA). Whereas the first essay proposes an inclusive approach to technology assessment by delineating an ethical checklist, the following essays focus on two of the checklist points, i.e. “privacy” and “control, influence and power”, in relation to workspace surveillance. The core idea of Essay I (written in collaboration with Sven Ove Hansson) is that, due to its strong social impact, new technology and novel use of existing technology should be considered from the perspective of ethics. We suggest that assessments should be conducted on the basis of nine crucial ethical aspects of technology. In Essay II an in-depth analysis of the meaning and value of privacy in the realm of work is undertaken. The meaning and value of privacy is explained as well as why it should be protected. It is argued that two dimensions of privacy should be safeguarded; “informational privacy” and “local privacy” for the reason that workers’ personal autonomy is protected thereby. Essay III is concerned with how workspace surveillance requires that job-applicants claim their privacy interests in employment negotiations to a much larger extent than what was previously the case. In most cases however, a dependency asymmetry between employer and job-candidate makes the latter ill-equipped for doing so. This asymmetry serves as the point of departure for an analysis of the conditions under which consent should be considered a criterion on moral acceptability with regard to employment contracting. The analysis suggests ways of rectifying this imbalance, raising demands on the quality of contractual consent. Essay IV discusses the extent to which it should be morally permissible for current or prospective employees to trade off their privacy in employment negotiations. The analysis starts out from, and questions, a libertarian case for voluntary self-enslavement. It is concluded that not even an orthodox libertarian can justify trade offs of a social good like liberty. Neither should employees be allowed to abstain informational privacy for the reason that such a trade-off could harm their future selves. In Essay V a dimensional analysis is proposed as a means to identify actually or potentially privacy invasive surveillance practices. It discusses ways in which different types of surveillance intrude upon employees’ privacy in order to guide the evaluation of such practice. Even though negative implications cannot be avoided altogether, by means of the proposed analysis, minimally intrusive means of monitoring can be identified.
QC 20100902

Este trabalho analisa o papel dos contratos relacionais na decisão entre a subcontratação e a integração vertical e as condições que tornam estes contratos factíveis. As proposições de Baker, Gibbons e Murphy (2002 – a partir daqui apenas BGM) e de Dixit (2004) são testadas e os resultados confirmam as principais hipóteses. Empresas podem operar através do mercado ou com um alto grau de integração vertical. No segundo caso as empresas evitam o que se chama de problemas de hold up – isto é, quando defrontada com a ocasião de cumprir os termos acertados no início da operação, a outra parte pode exigir termos de negociação mais onerosos, mas não tão onerosos a ponto de a primeira parte preferir abandonar os investimentos específicos que fez e negociar com terceiros. Se todos os ativos pertencerem a uma única empresa, tais problemas não existiriam, e isto explicaria a segunda opção, a operação em um alto grau de integração vertical (Williamson, 1985). Esta explicação, entretanto, não esclarece por que algumas empresas operam em redes, arranjos onde as partes permanecem como entidades economicamente separadas, mas com relações de longo prazo. A Toyota e outras empresas japonesas de automóveis são o exemplo típico desta situação (Holmström, Ronerts, 1998). Os contratos relacionais ajudam a contornar as dificuldades das contratações formais, independentes de essas advirem de problemas de holdup ou de outra fonte. Um contrato relacional permite que as partes utilizem o conhecimento detalhado que possuem de sua situação específica e que se adaptem também às novas informações quando essas se tornam disponíveis (MacNeil, 1978). Existe uma ressalva, entretanto: os contratos não poderão ser garantidos por uma terceira parte e por isso devem ser auto-executáveis, isto é, o valor das relações futuras deve ser o suficiente para que nenhuma das partes renegue o contrato (BGM, 2002, Dixit, 2004). Mas o que faz alguns contratos falharem enquanto outros são bem sucedidos? BGM examinam o problema à luz da teoria de contatos relacionais e da teoria de direitos de propriedade. De acordo com esses autores, a integração vertical afeta a tentação das partes de renegar um dado contrato relacional. Então, em um dado ambiente econômico e institucional, um contrato relacional pode ser factível sob integração vertical e não sê-lo para transações através do mercado – e isso será particularmente verdade quando encontrarmos uma grande variação dos preços alternativos dos ativos transacionados nestes contratos. Esses ativos não estão restritos apenas aos físicos, e podem ser o direito à propriedade de um bem ou a discricionariedade que um trabalhador subcontratado tem sobre como alocar o seu tempo na execução do trabalho contratado (Hart, 1992). Dixit (2004) discute o papel da sinalização e dos contratos formais na manutenção desses contratos relacionais. Partindo dessas hipóteses e com base na literatura de incentivos, as proposições de BGM e de Dixit são testadas. A decisão das empresas entre contratar serviços legais através do mercado ou manter um departamento jurídico próprio podem ser explicadas principalmente pela variação dos preços dos ativos (nesse caso, o valor dos serviços legais, que pode ser expresso pela maior ou menor competição no mercado de trabalho – Bertrand, 2004), mas também pelo ambiente institucional, particularmente pelo tempo necessário para se obter uma decisão da justiça e a variação do resultado esperado. Os resultados dos testes empíricos apontam para a confirmação da hipótese principal e sugere algumas linhas de pesquisa.
This work analyzes the role of relational contracts in the decision between subcontracting or vertical integration and the conditions that make these contracts feasible. The propositions of Baker, Gibbons and Murphy (2002 – since now, just BGM) and Dixit (2004) are tested and the results are supportive to the main propositions. Firms can conduct their operations through the market or can operate in a high degree of vertical integration. In the second case firms avoid what we call “holdup” problems - that is, when it comes time to work out the terms of the deal left open at the outset, the other side might demand terms of trade that are onerous but not so onerous that the first part would willingly forfeit the value of those transaction-specific assets by taking its business elsewhere. If all this assets belongs to one firm, there is no problem at all, and that explain this second choice, the vertical integration (Williamson, 1985). This rationale, however, don’t explain why some companies operate through networks, arrangements where the parties stay economically separate entities but having long-term relationship. Toyota and others Japanese Automobile Companies are the typical example (Holmström, Roberts, 1998). Relational contracts help circumvent difficulties in formal contracting no matter if these difficulties come from holdup problems or from another source. A relational contract allows the parties to utilize their detailed knowledge of their specific situation and to adapt to new information as it becomes available (MacNeil, 1978). There is a caveat, however: they cannot be enforced by a third party and must be self-enforcing, that means, the value of the future relationship must be sufficiently large that neither party wishes to renege (BGM, 2002, Dixit, 2004). But what makes some contracts to breakdown until others goes well? BGM examine the problem in the light of relational contracts and property rights theory. According to them, integration affects the parties’ temptation to renege a given relational contract. Thus, in a given environment, a desirable relational contract might be feasible under integration but not under nonintegration – and this will be particularly true when we face a wide varying alternative prices of an asset. These assets are not restricted to physical ones, and can be even a legal title to a good or the discretion that a outsourced worker have about how to allocate his time doing the job (Hart, 1992). Dixit (2004) discuss the role of signalization and formal contracts in the maintenance of these relational contracts. Departing from these hypotheses and with ground on the incentive literature, the BGM’s and Dixit’s propositions were tested. The companies’ decision between to contract law services in the market or to employ an internal legal department can be explained mainly by the variation on assets value (in the case, the value of legal services, expressed by a greater competition degree – Bertrand, 2004), but also by the institutional environment, particularly the time to reach a decision and the variability of the expected result. The results of the empirical research confirm the main assumption and point some lines of research in the relational contracts field.

This thesis is a case study about the choices and constraints faced by women clerical workers in a labour market where they have very little autonomy in negotiating their pay and conditions of employment. On the one hand, clerical work has developed as a feminised occupation with a history of being low in status and low paid. On the other hand, it is an ideal occupation for women wanting to combine work and family across their life cycle. How these two phenomena impact upon women clerical workers ability to negotiate enterprise agreements is the subject of this thesis. From a theoretical perspective this thesis builds upon Catherine Hakim�s preference theory which explores the choices women clerical workers� make in relation to their work and family lives. Where Hakim�s preference theory focuses on the way in which women use their agency to determine their work and life style choices, this thesis gives equal weighting to the impact of agency and the constraints imposed by external structures such as the availability of part-time work and childcare, as well as the impact of organisational culture. The research data presented was based on face-to-face interviews with forty female clerical workers. The clerical workers ranged in age from 21 to 59 years of age. The respondents were made up of single or partnered women without family responsibilities, women juggling work and family, and women who no longer had dependent children and were approaching retirement. This thesis contends that these clerical workers are ill placed to optimise their conditions of employment under the new industrial regime of enterprise bargaining and individual contracts. Very few of the women were union members and generally they were uninformed about their rights and entitlements.

L'objet de cette recherche est de comprendre le phénomène de l'impartition de la R&D dans son ensemble. La thèse est ancrée dans une posture interprétativiste et a recours à la théorie enracinée comme démarche de recherche. Comme le préconisent Glaser et Strauss, ce travail ne s'inscrit pas dans un cadre théorique prédéfini ; ainsi, il débute par un état des lieux de la R&D en France et une étude pilote basée sur cinq organisations. Le deuxième chapitre expose le positionnement retenu et caractérise la recherche d'exploratoire et de qualitative et le mode de raisonnement d'abductif. Il présente également l'étude qualitative qui repose sur 46 entretiens et une analyse de documents ainsi que les outils analytiques qui ont été utilisés. Il décrit, enfin, l'étude quantitative reprenant les données issues de deux études réalisées par les ministères. Le troisième chapitre examine les différents résultats, il adopte une définition précise de l'impartition de la R&D, il décompose le phénomène en cinq relations client-prestataire. Il met aussi en avant la recherche de compétences comme principale raison de l'impartition de la R&D et l'existence d'un cœur de recherche ne pouvant être imparti. Une dernière section détaille les différents types de contrats et les différentes étapes du projet. Le comment n'a été que peu abordé dans les entretiens. Aussi, une étude de cas portant sur la relation entre une entreprise impartitrice et un de ses prestataires a été menée et est relatée dans le chapitre 4. Cette étude de cas identifie quatre modes de coordination de la relation d'impartition que sont la dimension humaine, l'apprentissage, la proximité et la confiance. Un dernier chapitre établit un bilan des apports et des limites de la littérature qui a été utilisée comme outil analytique, et ce travail s'achève par une synthèse aboutissant à une théorie substantive de l'impartition de la R&D.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1989.
Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 192-199).

This dissertation consists of three essays. The first essay examines a general theory of information based on informal contracting. The measurement problem—the disparity of true and measured performances—is at the core of many failures in incentive systems. Informal contracting can be a potential solution since, unlike in formal contracting, it can utilize a lot of qualitative and informative signals. However, informal contracting must be self-enforced. Given this trade-off between informativeness and self-enforcement, I show that a new source of statistical information is economically valuable in informal con- tracting if and only if it is sufficiently informative that it refines the existing pass/fail criterion. I also find that a new information is more likely valuable, as the stock of existing information is large. This information theory has implications on the measurement problem, a puzzle of relative performance evaluation and human resources management. I also provide a methodological contribution. For tractable analysis, the first-order approach (FOA) should be employed. Existing FOA-justifying conditions (e.g. the Mirrlees-Rogerson condition) are so strong that the information ranking condition can be applied only to a small set of information structures. Instead, I find a weak FOA- justifying condition, which holds in many prominent examples (with multi- variate normal or some of univariate exponential family distributions). The second essay analyzes the effectiveness of managerial punishments in mitigating moral hazard problem of government bailouts. Government bailouts of systemically important financial or industrial firms are necessary ex-post but cause moral hazard ex-ante. A seemingly perfect solution to this time-inconsistency problem is saving a firm while punishing its manager. I show that this idea does not necessarily work if ownership and management are separated. In this case, the shareholder(s) of the firm has to motivate the manager by using incentive contracts. Managerial punishments (such as Obama’s $500,000 bonus cap) could distort the incentive-contracting program. The shareholder’s ability to motivate the manager could then be reduced and thereby moral hazard could be exacerbated depending on corporate governance structures and punishment measures, which means the likelihood of future bailouts increases. As an alternative, I discuss the effectiveness of shareholder punishments. The third essay analyzes how education affect workers’ career-concerns. A person’s life consists of two important stages: the first stage as a student and the second stage as a worker. In order to address how a person chooses an education-career path, I examine an integrated model of education and career-concerns. In the first part, I analyze the welfare effect of education. In Spence’s job market signaling model, education as a sorting device improves efficiency by mitigating the lemon market problem. In my integrated model, by contrast, education as a sorting device can be detrimental to social welfare, as it eliminates the work incentive generated by career-concerns. In this regard, I suggest scholarship programs aimed at building human capital rather than sorting students. The second part provides a new perspective on education: education is job-risk hedging device (as well as human capital enhancing or sorting device). I show that highly risk-averse people take high education in order to hedge job-risk and pursue safe but medium-return work path. In contrast, lowly risk-averse people take low education, bear job-risk, and pursue high-risk high-return work path. This explains why some people finish college early and begin start-ups, whereas others take master’s or Ph.D. degrees and find safe but stable jobs.
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Text in English, abstracts in English, Afrikaans and Zulu
This research endeavoured to construct a psychological framework for enhancing relational attitudes and behaviour in a South African employment relations context by investigating the relationship dynamics between individuals’ work-related perceptions (perceived organisational support and justice) and work experiences (psychological contract violation) and their relational attitudes (organisational and union commitment) and behaviour (organisational citizenship behaviour and counterproductive work behaviour) in the workplace, as moderated by their personal dispositions (individualism/collectivism) and mediated by organisational cynicism and trust. The associations between individuals’ personal (gender, age, population group and education level) and work-related (employment status, tenure, job level and union membership) characteristics and these dispositional and relational variables were also explored. A quantitative cross-sectional survey was conducted on a purposive sample of employed students registered at a higher education institution (n = 740). Canonical correlation analysis revealed that individuals’ work-related perceptions and work experiences as well as their sense of organisational cynicism and trust were strong predictors of their attitudinal commitment towards their organisations and their organisationally directed organisational citizenship behaviour. Structural equation modelling indicated a good fit between employees’ perceptions of the quality of their social exchange relationship with their employing organisations and their trust in and cynicism towards these organisations as antecedents of relational attitudes and behaviour. Mediation analysis indicated that individuals’ work-related perceptions and work experiences influence their attitudinal commitment to their employing organisations through their sense of organisational cynicism and trust. Moderation analysis revealed that the influence of individuals’ cynicism towards their employing organisations on their attitudinal commitment is conditional upon their level of horizontal collectivism. Multiple regression analysis showed that individuals’ gender, population group, level of education and job level explain their attitudinal and behavioural reactions to work-related perceptions and work experiences. Tests for significant mean differences revealed significant differences in terms of the biographical variables. At a theoretical level, the study extended the understanding of relational attitudes and behaviour and the antecedents thereof in the workplace. At an empirical level, the study delivered an empirically tested psychological framework for enhancing relational attitudes and behaviour. At a practical level, individual and organisational interventions in terms of the psychological framework were recommended.
Met hierdie studie is gepoog om ʼn sielkundige raamwerk daar te stel wat aangewend kan word om werknemerhoudings en -gedrag in ‘n Suid-Afrikaanse arbeidsverhoudinge konteks te verbeter. Met die oog hierop is ondersoek ingestel na die verhoudingsdinamiek tussen individue se werkverwante persepsies (waargenome organisasiesteun en -geregtigheid); werksbelewenisse (skending van die sielkundige kontrak); hulle houdings (organisasie- en vakbondverbondenheid); en gedrag (organisasieburgerskapgedrag en teenproduktiewe werksgedrag) by die werkplek wat deur hulle pesoonlike ingesteldheid (individualisme/ kollektivisme) beïnvloed word en deur organisasiesinisme en -vertroue bemiddel word. Die verband tussen individue se persoonlike eienskappe (hulle geslag, ouderdom, bevolkingsgroep en opleidingsvlak), werkverwante eienskappe (hulle arbeidstatus, dienstyd, posvlak en vakbondlidmaatskap) en hierdie gesindheids- en verhoudingsveranderlikes is eweneens verken. 'n Kwantitatiewe deursneeopname is gedoen met 'n doelgerigte steekproef onder werkende studente wat by 'n hoëronderwysinstelling ingeskryf is (n = 740). 'n Kanonieke korrelasieanalise het getoon dat individue se werkverwante persepsies en belewenisse sowel as hul organisasiesinisme en -vertroue 'n goeie aanduiding was van hulle houdingsverbondenheid tot hulle organisasies en van hulle burgerskapgedrag jeens hulle organisasies. Strukturele vergelykingsmodellering het groot ooreenkomste tussen werknemers se persepsies van hoe goed hulle sosiale uitruilverhouding met hul werkgewerorganisasies is asook hul vertroue in en sinisme teenoor hierdie organisasies as antesedente van hulle houdings teenoor en gedrag in hulle organisasies aan die lig gebring. Volgens 'n bemiddelingsanalise bepaal werknemers se werkverwante persepsies en werkbelewenisse hulle verbondenheid tot hulle werkgewerorganisasie op grond van hulle organisasiesinisme en -vertroue. 'n Modereringsanalise het getoon dat die invloed wat individue se sinisme teenoor hulle werkgewerorganisasies op hulle verbondenheid het, afhanklik is van hulle vlak van horisontale kollektivisme. Voorts blyk dit uit 'n meervoudige regressieanalise dat individue se geslag, bevolkingsgroep, opleiding en posvlak hulle houding- en gedragsreaksie op werkverwante persepsies en belewenisse verduidelik. Afgesien hiervan het opvallende verskille ten opsigte van die biografiese veranderlikes danksy toetse vir beduidende gemiddeldeverskille aan die lig gekom. Op teoretiese vlak het hierdie studie die kennis van werksverwante houdings en gedrag en die antesedente daarvan in die werkplek verbeter. Op empiriese vlak het hierdie studie 'n empiries getoetste sielkundige raamwerk vir die bevordering van positiewe werksverwante houdings en -gedrag tot gevolg gehad. Op praktiese vlak is individuele en organisasie-intervensies ten opsigte van die sielkundige raamwerk aanbeveel.
Lolu cwaningo luzama ukwakha uhlaka lwezengqondo lokukhulisa indlela enhle yokucabanga nokuziphatha kumqondosizinda wezindlela zokusebenza eNingizimu Afrika ngokucubungula izinguquko ebudlelwaneni phakathi kwemibono emayelana nemisebenzi yomuntu ngamunye (ukusekela nobulungiswa kwenhlangano okucatshangelwayo) nababhekana nakho emsebenzini (ukungahlonishwa kwesivumelwano sezengqondo) nendlela yabo yokucabanga (ukuzibophezela kwenhlangano nokubumbana) nendlela yokuziphatha (indlela yokuziphatha ngokobuzwe benhlangano nendlela yokuziphatha engavumelani nokwenziwa ngemfanelo komsebenzi) emsebenzini njengoba kujivazwa yindlela bona ngokwabo abaziphethe ngayo (ngokuzimela/ngokusebenzisana) futhi kugqugquzelwa ukungabaza nokungabinethemba enhlanganweni. Ubudlelwane phakathi kobunjalo bomuntu ngomuntu (ubulili, iminyaka yobudala, nokuthi ungowaliphi iqembu labantu kanye nezinga lemfundo) nokumayelana nomsebenzi (isimo sokusebenza, umsebenzi owenzayo, izinga lomsebenzi nobulungu benhlangano) izimpawu nalokhu okuguquguqukayo okuwubunjalo bomuntu nakho kwatholakala. Inhlolovo engamanani eyizigaba ezehlukene yenziwa kwisampula eyayikhethwe ngamabomu yabafundi ababhalisiwe esikhungweni semfundo ephakeme (n = 740). Ukuhlaziwa kokuhlobana okungenakuphikiswa kwaveza ukuthi izindlela zabantu ngabanye zokucabanga mayelana nomsebenzi nababhekana nakho emsebenzini kanjalo nombono wabo mayelana nokungabaza nokwethemba inhlangano kwakuyizona zinkomba ezazinamandla zokuzibophezela kwabo ngokwendlela yokucabanga ezinhlanganweni zabo kanye nendlela yabo yokuziphatha ngokwenhlangano okubhekiswe ebuzweni benhlangano. Indlela yokuqhathanisa ngokokwakheka yaveza ukuxhumana okuhle phakathi kombono wabasebenzi wezinga eliphezulu lobudlelwane babo bokuxoxisana nezinhlangano ezibaqashile kanye nokuthemba nokungabaza kwabo okwakuqondiswe kulezi zinhlangano njengesisekelo sendlela yokucabanga neyokuziphatha kwabo. Ukuhlaziywa kokuxoxisana kuveza ukuthi imibono yabantu emayelana nomsebenzi kanye nababhekana nakho emsebenzini kunomthelela ekuzibophezeleni kwabo ngokwendlela yokucabanga ezinhlanganweni ezibaqashile ngokomqondo wabo wokungabaza nokwethemba inhlangano. Ukuhlaziya okulawulekayo kwaveza ukuthi umthelela wokungabaza komumntu ngamunye mayelana nezinhlangano ezibaqashile ekuzibophezeleni kwabo ngokwendlela yokucabanga kuncike ezingeni labo lokusebenzisana ngokulinganayo. Ukuhlaziywa kokwehla ngamandla kwakhombisa ukuthi lokhu okulandelayo komuntu ngomuntu, ubulili, iqembu labantu akulona, izinga lemfundo nezinga lomsebenzi kuchaza indlela ababhekana ngayo ngokwendlela yokucabanga nokuziphatha okumayelana nomsebenzi nalokho ababhekana nakho emsebenzini. Ukuhlolwa kokusemqoka kuchaza umehluko owembula umehluko osemqoka ngokuguquguquka kwemininingwane ngomuntu. Ezingeni lethiyori, lolu cwaningo luveze ngokuthe xaxa ukuqonda indlela yokucabanga neyokuziphatha kwabantu, nezisekelo ezikhona endaweni yokusebenza. Ezingeni lokungase kubonakale kwenzeka, lesi sifundo silethe uhlaka lwezengqondo oluhlolwe njengolungase lwenzeke ukukhulisa indlela yokucabanga neyokuziphatha kwabantu. Ezingeni lokungase kwenzeke, kwancomeka ukuthi kube nokungenelela komuntu ngamunye nokwenhlangano ngokohlaka lwezengqondo.
Psychology
Ph. D. (Psychology (Industrial and Organisational Psychology))

In order to help develop a coherent PCT model for this dissertation, the focus was set mainly on three major tasks. The first one is identifying the basic psychological contract components, including the perceived psychological contract obligations of employees and employers alike. The second involves the identification of necessary assumptions which can deduce the mechanism concerning the effects of psychological contract components on employee outcomes. In this dissertation, the norm of reciprocity and indebtedness have been identified as the two necessary human nature assumptions in PCT building. Lastly, the third task is to deduce the relationship between employer and employee obligations in predicting employee outcomes. After the shortcomings of two existing approaches that investigate the joint effects of employer and employee obligations were reviewed in the literature and two assumptions identified in the second task, an interactive approach was proposed to examine the combined effects of the aforementioned obligations.
Since the nature of employment relationships are changing worldwide, research on psychological contract concerning reciprocal obligations between employer and employees has gained increased attention. However, extant literature falls short in establishing a coherent psychological contract theory. For instance, although its core contents include employer and employee obligations, the latter is relatively neglected in most studies. In addition, there is relatively little discussion about the basic elements of the psychological contract. Some of these elements are the relationship between/among components of psychological contract and the possible combined effects of these components on both employer and employee outcomes. Hence, these hinder the development of a coherent psychological contract theory (PCT).
This dissertation contributes to the psychological contract literature in five ways. Initially, the proposed PCT model provides a coherent framework for psychological contract research. Second, the interactive approach shapes future research direction by examining the joint effects of employer and employee obligations. Third, it contributes to the literature regarding reciprocity by investigating the interplay between these obligations. Fourth, the notion of personalization of employer by the employee is verified using two human nature assumptions (i.e., norm of reciprocity and indebtedness). Finally, the current study may have implications in conceptualizing the relational social contract in different social relationships in addition to the employer-employee relationship. In short, this dissertation develops a more comprehensive PCT. Moreover, some managerial implications are derived for practitioners according to the theoretical development.
Peng, Zhengmin.
Adviser: Chi-sum Wong.
Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 70-06, Section: A, page: 2137.
Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2008.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 121-130).
Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web.
Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web.
Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest dissertations and theses, [201-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web.
Abstracts in English and Chinese.
School code: 1307.

The first part of the thesis takes up a contracting problem in which a venture capitalist (VC) finances agents to conduct risky projects in which the VC can neither observe the agents' actions nor verify the agents' actions ex post. The central issue is how to keep agent from cheating the VC by skimming profits. Theoretical results developed in the first chapter are applied in successive chapters to data sets of maritime contracts that pertain to the financing of Venetian trade in the years 1190-1220 and 1303-1351. The contract data indicate that risk-sharing between contracting parties would less likely obtain in the conduct of the most risk-laden ventures whereas contracting parties tended to share commercial risk in the conduct of those ventures that were least subject to both commercial and physical hazards. Such patterns in the contract data may, at first sight, seem counter-intuitive, but they line up with qualitative predictions of the theoretical framework. The central theoretical finding is that under general conditions debt contracts — contracts in which agents effectively buy the right to conduct a venture from the VC --dominate contracts in which the VC and agent share commercial risk. An exercise in dynamic optimization indicates that while there might be some scope for risk-sharing between the contracting parties, debt contracts neutralize informational rents an investor must otherwise yield to his agent to induce truthful reporting of outcomes the investor can neither observe nor verify. The second part of the thesis takes up an experimental examination of contracting. The experimental design involves a market in which agents buy and sell rights to participate in a follow-on stage of strategic interaction. The central question posed is how the game and the market, two different types of processes, interact. The results demonstrate that outcomes in the game are systematically linked to outcomes in the market. The game outcomes can be characterized by traditional game-theoretic solution concepts. Moreover, the market converges to a competitive equilibrium consistent with the Nash equilibrium that obtains in the game.

This thesis provides a critical examination of John Rawls’s political philosophy as it relates to international justice and human rights, Rawls’s theory of justice as fairness has made an enormous impact on contemporary political and ethical theory, yet it has been criticized by some for failing to address the extra-domestic aspects of social justice, including universal human rights. In Chapter One I describe the theoryof.rights, developed in the social contract tradition and how this theory has influenced the modern discourse of human rights. In Chapter Two I discuss Rawls’s theory of justice as fairness, the basic rights and liberties, and the idea of political liberalism. In Chapter Three 1 analyze Rawls’s account of international justice and argue that it fails to uphold the same rigorous principles of justice as found in his account of domestic justice. Finally, in Chapter Four l discuss Rawls’s more recent attempts to theorize international justice and human rights, I conclude that Rawls is not justified in limiting the set of human rights available to persons in different societies, and that this limitation is an unnecessary feature of his theory of justice. In contrast 1 argue for a more cosmopolitan system of social justice that is strongly normative and grounded in Rawlsian ideal theory.
Philosophy, Practical & Systematic Theology
D.Litt. et Phil. (Philosophy)