How much does ownership really matter? Equity and trust relations in joint venture relationships

In this paper, I reaffirm the role of trust in interfirm relations and make an appeal for more cross-disciplinary work to further our insights into the functioning of important phenomena of interest such as international joint ventures. I also pose a couple of fundamental questions: ( 1) Is ownership overrated? That is, should we and our scholarship be so consumed with issues of ownership? ( 2) Is trust under-rated? In what way might we and our scholarship change if we assumed trust rather than opportunism? In what way might it change firms' attitudes and behavior towards their partnership relations?.