Contracting is a cornerstone of productive interorganizational exchange; and while much research has been conducted about how contracts impact exchange consequences (e.g., transaction costs, performance), there is less understanding of how contracts shape the mediating behaviors and exchange processes that lead to those consequences. We demonstrate how flexible and vigilant exchange processes mediate promotion and prevention frames in building expectations of relationship continuity. We further identify interpretive uncertainty—a perceptual misalignment between the exchange parties—as a key moderator weakening flexible exchange processes’ impact on continuity expectations. These insights are empirically verified in samples involving 661 managers and executives across a wide range of industry contexts. Our results provide key theoretical and managerial implications.

契约是富有成效的组织间交流的基石；尽管人们对合同如何影响交换后果（例如交易成本、绩效）进行了大量研究，但对合同如何塑造导致这些后果的中介行为和交换过程的了解却很少。我们展示了灵活和警惕的交换流程如何调节促进和预防框架，以建立关系连续性的期望。我们进一步确定解释性不确定性（交换各方之间的感知偏差）是削弱灵活交换过程对连续性预期影响的关键调节因素。这些见解在涉及广泛行业背景的 661 名经理和高管的样本中得到了实证验证。我们的结果提供了关键的理论和管理意义。