Abstract
Existing research on international partnerships focuses primarily on the ex ante structuring of interorganizational relationships. This study departs from this research by taking a behavioral approach to understand the ex post maintenance of cross-border marketing partnerships. A conceptual model is developed by identifying the antecedents of trust and performance in such partnerships. The model is empirically tested on a sample of U.S. firms having distributor and licensing relationships with firms from Asia, Europe, and Central/South America. Findings support the importance of bilateral relational norms and informal monitoring mechanism in building interorganizational trust and improving market performance of international partnerships.
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*Preet S. Aulakh (Ph.D., The University of Texas at Austin) is Assistant Professor of Marketing and International Business at Michigan State University. His research interests include control issues in international business, strategic alliances, and entry strategies in foreign markets. His previous articles have appeared in Journal of Marketing, Journal of International Business Studies, and Journal of International Marketing.
**Masaaki Kotabe is Associate Professor of International Business and Ambassador Edward Clark Centennial Fellow in Business at the University of Texas at Austin. His research interests include global sourcing strategies, product and process innovation management, international alliances, and trade practices. His research has appeared in such journals as the Journal of International Business Studies, Strategic Management Journal, Journal of Marketing, and Columbia Journal of World Business, among others His most recent publication includes Anticompetitive Practices in Japan (Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 1996).
***Arvind Sahay (Ph.D., The University of Texas at Austin) is Assistant Professor of Marketing at London Business School. His research interests include technology licensing, product and competitive strategies, and new product development. His research has appeared in Journal of Marketing.
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Aulakh, P., Kotabe, M. & Sahay, A. Trust and Performance in Cross-Border Marketing Partnerships: A Behavioral Approach. J Int Bus Stud 27, 1005–1032 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8490161
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8490161