Using trust practices to manage risks in open strategy

Organizations increasingly engage in inter-organizational open strategy (IOOS) initiatives, but face risks related to transparency and inclusions. This paper argues that, because of the absence of traditional organizing mechanisms, trust becomes crucial in mitigating these risks. Existing research remains silent on how actors employ trust practices to manage these risks. Through a longitudinal case study of IOOS initiatives, we unveil specific trust practices employed to manage risks as they arise. Of particular importance is the practice of reciprocal sharing as it ensures openness and vulnerability on both sides, as a consequence of openers and contributors disclosing their strategies. We find that reciprocal sharing has the power to maintain trust in the face of multiple continuously arising risks when it is characterized as value-obscuring, (semi)voluntary, and vulnerable. Our findings contribute to open strategy (OS) literature by outlining how trust practices help in managing risks as they arise and theorizing the role of reciprocity.