Resolving Tensions in Hub-and-Spoke Networks of the Enterprise Application Software Industry - An Exploratory Case Study

Enterprise application software (EAS) is often developed organizationally distributed in hub-and-spoke networks. From a theoretical point of view the specific structure of these networks is characterized by tensions: While on the one hand trust as well as informal control is of high importance in hub-and-spoke networks, on the other hand structural properties of these networks constitute the hub’s preference for efficient formal control, which, following a conventional view, undermines trust. Based on an exploratory case study and driven by socio-economic theory we develop a process model. The model is based on the concept of trust-sensitive context management that explains how the tensions are resolved by clarifying the relationship between different means of control (formal / informal) and different types of trust (personal trust / system trust).

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