HOW INFORMAL CAN YOU BE - TRUST AND RECIPROCITY WITHIN COOPERATIVE AND COLLABORATIVE RELATIONSHIPS

This paper reports on the informal information exchanges that take pla ce between co-operating firms. The paper brings together the findings from three separate research projects conducted over the last five yea rs, which, in their different ways, discuss collaborative or co-operat ive links among small firms from different sectors. Contrasts in the v arious types of co-operative behaviour are examined. However, the main intention is to emphasize the varying levels of trust and reciprocity that are exhibited by the participating firms.