Theory and empirical research have established that repeated interactions foster cooperation in social dilemmas. Therefore, in social dilemmas, actors have incentives for strategic tie formation in the sense of establishing long-term relations involving repeated interactions. We introduce and analyze a simple game-theoretic model that captures the effects of repeated interactions and simultaneously endogenizes the formation of long-term relations. We assume strict game-theoretic rationality as well as self-regarding preferences. We highlight the commitment-feature of tie formation: through establishing a long-term relation, at cost, actors ensure that they would suffer themselves from future sanctions of own opportunism. This allows for mutually beneficial cooperation in the first place.

While the paper does not yet include experimental work, it offers testable implications as well as further suggestions for experimental work and macro-implications.