Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Trust across borders

  • Commentary
  • Published:
Journal of International Business Studies Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

We make the case for fresh approaches to examine the role of trust in international collaborations, based on the idea that not only do the levels of trust differ across international borders but also both the nature of trust and the institutional and cultural support for trust can vary across different national contexts. Collaboration partners from different countries are therefore likely to bring either symmetric or asymmetric conceptions of trust to the business relationship. We develop a model and propositions linking symmetry and asymmetry in the institutional and cultural support for trust in international collaborations with the degree of partner interdependence, and identify implications for governance and trust-building investments. We conclude with some suggestions for research that incorporates trust asymmetries between partners.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Ariño, A., de la Torre, J. and Ring, P.S. (2001) ‘Relational quality: managing trust in corporate alliances’, California Management Review 44 (1): 109–131.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aulakh, P.A., Kotabe, M. and Sahay, A. (1996) ‘Trust and performance in cross-border marketing partnerships: a behavioral approach’, Journal of International Business Studies 27 (5): 1005–1032.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Balabanis, G. and Diamantopoulos, A. (2004) ‘Domestic country bias, country-of-origin effects, and consumer ethnocentrism: a multidimensional unfolding approach’, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 32 (1): 80–95.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Child, J. and Möllering, G. (2003) ‘Contextual confidence and active trust development in the Chinese business environment’, Organization Science 14 (1): 69–80.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cummings, L.L. and Bromiley, P. (1996) ‘The Organizational Trust Inventory (OTI): Development and Validation’, in R.N. Kramer and T.R. Tyler (eds.) Trust in Organizations, Sage: Thousand Oaks, CA, pp: 302–330.

    Google Scholar 

  • Doney, P.M., Cannon, J.P. and Mullen, M.R. (1998) ‘Understanding the influence of national culture on the development of trust’, Academy of Management Review 23 (3): 601–620.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dore, R. (1987) Taking Japan Seriously, Stanford University Press: Stanford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dyer, J.H. and Chu, W.J. (2003) ‘The role of trustworthiness in reducing transaction costs and improving performance: empirical evidence from the United States, Japan, and Korea’, Organization Science 14 (1): 57–68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Earley, P.C. and Mosakowski, E. (1996) ‘Experimental International Management Research’, in B.J. Punnett and O. Shenkar (eds.) Handbook for International Management Research, Blackwell: Cambridge, MA, pp: 83–114.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fukuyama, F. (1995) Trust: The Social Virtues and the Creation of Prosperity, The Free Press: New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gannon, M.J. and Associates (1994) Understanding Global Cultures: Metaphorical Journeys Through Seventeen Countries, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gibson, C.B. and Zellmer-Bruhn, M.E. (2001) ‘Metaphors and meaning: an intercultural analysis of the concept of teamwork’, Administrative Science Quarterly 46 (2): 274–303.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hagen, J.M. and Choe, S. (1998) ‘Trust in Japanese interfirm relations: institutional sanctions matter’, Academy of Management Review 23 (3): 589–600.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hamel, G., Doz, Y.L. and Prahalad, C.K. (1989) ‘Collaborate with your competitors – and win’, Harvard Business Review 67 (1): 133–138.

    Google Scholar 

  • Huff, L. and Kelley, L. (2003) ‘Levels of organizational trust in individualist versus collectivist societies: a seven-nation study’, Organization Science 14 (1): 81–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Khanna, T., Gulati, R. and Nohria, N. (1998) ‘The dynamics of learning alliances: competition, cooperation, and relative scope’, Strategic Management Journal 19 (3): 193–210.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kogut, B. and Singh, H. (1988) ‘The effect of national culture on the choice of entry mode’, Journal of International Business Studies 19 (3): 411–432.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kostova, T. and Zaheer, S. (1999) ‘Organizational legitimacy under conditions of complexity: the case of the multinational enterprise’, Academy of Management Review 24 (1): 64–81.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lane, C. (1997) ‘The social regulation of inter-firm relations in Britain and Germany: market rules, legal norms and technical standards’, Cambridge Journal of Economics 21 (2): 197–215.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lane, C. and Bachmann, R. (1996) ‘The social constitution of trust: supplier relations in Britain and Germany’, Organization Studies 17 (3): 365–395.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lane, P.J., Salk, J.E. and Lyles, M.A. (2001) ‘Absorptive capacity, learning, and performance in international joint ventures’, Strategic Management Journal 22 (12): 1139–1161.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lincoln, J.R. (1990) ‘Japanese organization and organization theory’, Research in Organizational Behavior 12: 255–295.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lincoln, J.R., Hanada, M. and Olson, J. (1981) ‘Cultural orientations and individual reactions to organizations: a study of employees of Japanese-owned firms’, Administrative Science Quarterly 26 (1): 93–115.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Luo, Y. (2001) ‘Antecedents and consequences of personal attachment in cross-cultural cooperative ventures’, Administrative Science Quarterly 46 (2): 177–201.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Madhok, A. (1995) ‘Revisiting multinational firms’ tolerance for joint ventures: a trust-based approach’, Journal of International Business Studies 26 (1): 117–137.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Markus, H. and Zajonc, R. (1985) ‘The Cognitive Perspective in Social Psychology’, in G. Lindzey and E. Aronson (eds.) Handbook of Social Psychology, Vol. 1 (3rd edn), Random House: New York, pp: 137–230.

    Google Scholar 

  • McEvily, B., Perrone, V. and Zaheer, A. (2003) ‘Trust as an organizing principle’, Organization Science 14 (1): 91–103.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morris, M.W., Leung, K., Ames, D. and Lickel, B. (1999) ‘Views from inside and outside: integrating emic and etic insights about culture and justice judgment’, Academy of Management Review 24 (4): 781–796.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peterson, R.A. and Jolibert, A.J.P. (1995) ‘A meta-analysis of country-of-origin effects’, Journal of International Business Studies 26 (4): 883–900.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shane, S.A. (1992) ‘The effect of cultural differences in perceptions of transaction costs on national differences in the preference for licensing’, Management International Review 32 (4): 295–311.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sheppard, B.H. and Sherman, D.M. (1998) ‘The grammars of trust: a model and general implications’, Academy of Management Review 23 (3): 422–437.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stahl, G.K., Chua, C.H. and Pablo, A.L. (2003) ‘Trust following acquisitions: a three-country comparative study of employee reactions to takeovers’, Academy of Management Best Paper Proceedings, N1–N6[CD].

  • Triandis, H.C. (1994) Culture and Social Behavior, McGraw-Hill: New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Verlegh, P.W.J. and Steenkamp, J.-B.E.M. (1999) ‘A review and meta-analysis of country-of-origin research’, Journal of Economic Psychology 20 (5): 521–546.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Welter, F., Kautonen, T., Chepurenko, A., Malieva, E. and Venesaar, U. (2003) ‘Does Trust Matter? A Cross-Cultural View on Entrepreneurship in Different Trust Milieus’, Frontiers of Entrepreneurship Research, Proceedings of the 23rd Annual Entrepreneurship Research Conference, Babson College, MA, p 230.

  • Wicks, A.C. and Berman, S.L. (2004) ‘The effects of context on trust in firm–stakeholder relationships: the institutional environment, trust creation, and firm performance’, Business Ethics Quarterly 14 (1): 141–160.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yamagishi, T., Cook, K.S. and Watabe, M. (1998) ‘Uncertainty, trust, and commitment formation in the United States and Japan’, American Journal of Sociology 104 (1): 165–194.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zaheer, A., McEvily, B. and Perrone, V. (1998) ‘Does trust matter? Exploring the effects of interorganizational and interpersonal trust on performance’, Organization Science 9 (2): 141–159.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zaheer, S. (1995) ‘Overcoming the liability of foreignness’, Academy of Management Journal 38 (2): 341–363.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zucker, L.G. (1986) ‘Production of Trust: Institutional Sources of Economic Structure, 1840–1920’, in B.M. Staw and L.L. Cummings (eds.) Research in Organizational Behavior, Vol. 8, JAI Press Inc.: Greenwich, CT, pp: 53–111.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    Srilata Zaheer & Akbar Zaheer

Authors
  1. Srilata Zaheer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Akbar Zaheer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Srilata Zaheer.

Additional information

Accepted by Arie Y Lewin, Editor-in-Chief, 17 October 2005.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Zaheer, S., Zaheer, A. Trust across borders. J Int Bus Stud 37, 21–29 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8400180

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8400180

Keywords

Search

Navigation