Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the robustness of the emerging body of knowledge about collaborative supply chains in the context of Engineered-to-Order manufacturing engineering project systems.

Design/methodology/approach: This paper uses an evolutionary classification technique to build an evolutionary history for an industry case study: the French Engineered to Order machine design industry.

Findings: The evolutionary history shows that collaborative forms of governance have been used in this industry after an era of failed transactional market-based governance. The industry, however, has abandoned collaborative forms of governance to return to its historical roots towards more vertical integration.

Research limitations/implications: Findings are only relevant in the context of the investigated industry.
Practical implications: In certain industrial settings managers should consider the promise of collaboration and trust with cautious.

Originality/value: The data set supports Williamson's (1993) rejection of trust as a mode of