Three Essays on Economic Value Creation through Decisions and Cooperation

In this three-paper dissertation, I advance a three-dimensional view of cooperation in strategic management. I position cooperation not simply as the opposite of competition, but as a construct that is meaningful across organizational contexts and levels of analysis. Across three studies, I examine how cooperative behavior emerges, evolves and can be purposely shaped under conditions of uncertainty and interdependence. In Paper 1, I develop a conceptual framework of interorganizational trust in joint ventures operating under behavioral and environmental uncertainty. I distinguish between contractual and relational trust and theorize how trust develops and evolves across the pre-deal and post-deal phases of a joint venture relationship. I position information processing as a central mechanism through which joint venture partners form and update trust over time. In Paper 2, I focus on advisory relationships and examine how the source of advice may serve as a nudge for collaboration between advisors and investors. Using a controlled laboratory experiment, I test whether identical advice to “stay the course” is equally effective when delivered by a human expert or an AI-based advisor. I found that the presence of advice, regardless of the source, led to more advantageous outcomes relative to no advice. In Paper 3, I examine coordination within groups operating under a simulated joint liability lending arrangement. Drawing on goal-setting and social identity theories, I test behavioral mechanisms designed to promote collective responsibility and loan repayment. The results show that shared goals significantly increase borrowers' willingness to contribute toward group loan repayment. Collectively, these studies deepen the field’s understanding of cooperation, as manifested through interorganizational trust, advice-taking and group coordination in complex tasks. They also demonstrate how such mechanisms can be intentionally designed and leveraged for enhanced business performance.

Level thesis:degree_level

Doctorate Degree

Year dc:date.issued

2026

Author dc:creator

• Neely, Diana

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Sundali, James A.

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Ridinger, Garret
• Beekun, Rafik I.
• Li, Sabrina
• Guerrero, Federico L.

• Community Lending
• Decision Making
• Group Identity
• Interorganizational Trust
• Joint Ventures
• Shared Goals

Language dc:language.iso

en_US, English

Repository record dc:identifier.uri

https://scholarwolf.unr.edu/handle/11714/11874

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarwolf.unr.edu:11714/11874