When Toyota wanted to secure a long$-$term supply of lithium, it had to create a bond of trust with an Australian company, Orocobre Ltd$.$ Orocobre wanted to establish the bond of trust before making huge investments in specialized equipment required to extractthe high$-$quality lithium. What did Toyota do to instill this trust?

It made a credible commitment by taking an equity stake in Orocobre.

It offered Orocobre exposure to Toyota's proprietary information.

It offered Orocobre franchising opportunities to sell hybrid vehicles.

It acquired Orocobre as part of its backward vertical integration plans.