It is assumed that the institutional environment has an important role in determining the governance, as this may entail different transaction costs for economic agents. Based on New Institutional Economics (NIE), the objective of this paper was to understand how the transaction costs can influence one of the most important elements of choice of governance structure, the complexity of contractual relationship, and if this influence could vary in distinct institutional environments. For this purpose, the contractual relationship between supermarkets and suppliers of organic and conventional products (fresh fruits and vegetables - FFV) in two different institutional environments (Brazil and the U.S.A) were studied. To test these hypotheses 128 interviews were conducted, which were analyzed with Structural Equation Modeling, with the same theoretical model estimated for the two groups (both countries). The results showed that the influence of transaction costs in the complexity of contractual relationship, and so affecting the choosing among the governance structures, differ depending on the considered institutional environment. It is possible to conclude, in the end of this paper, that there are empirical evidences, demonstrated through the results of this structural equation modeling used, that the institutional environment can alter the influences over complexity of contractual relationship and so in the choice of the governance structure to be used.
New Institutional Economics; Organizational strategies; Contracts; Econometrics; Structural equation modeling; Complexity of contractual relationship
