New insights of empirical studies in contract research do not always conform to those that might be expected as a result of these theoretical studies. Much of the research into the nature and form of contracts has been of a theoretical nature and it is often referred as ‘relational contract’ or ‘incomplete contract’ theory. In comparison, a limited number of empirical studies have been undertaken. This paper will set out the findings of these two major streams of theoretical analysis of contracts and then contrast them with recent empirical research into ‘framework contracts’.