Relational contract, government support and stable collaboration: an empirical research on district medical collaboration platform in China

Relational contract is often regarded as compliments to economic contract. It provides support for collaboration stability. In some public service projects where strict economic contracts among partners are missing, it is necessary to find out the key contributors for stable collaborations and how these factors work in such situation. District medical collaboration platform in China is chosen as the subject of research in this study. According to survey results, it is found that both relational contract and government support have significant influence on stable collaboration. Furthermore, motivation for self-achievement and formal relationship development are key contributors for relational contract; and government policy on promoting public health service, government investment and intervention in the platform development are notable ingredients of government support. The results could be used to promote stable collaboration in public service projects.