Relationship Commitment and Trust in Inter-organizational Networks

Inter-organizational networks are important business-to-business marketing relationships composed of two or more organizations that uniquely combine inter-firm resources and core capabilities to enhance performance and ultimately create a mutual competitive advantage (Barney 1991; Mintzberg et al. 2008; Powell 1990; Ring and Van de Ven 1994). In response to competitive pressures, inter-organizational networks are replacing vertically integrated, multi-divisional organizations as a strategy to compete through collaboration (Achrol 1997; Bleeke and Ernst 1993; Weber and Khademian 2008). Such networks knit together specialized organizations in on-going, collaborative exchange relationships to competitively position organizations within the market. The literature indicates that relationship commitment and trust are essential to participation in inter-organizational networks; however, this perspective has not been addressed from the standpoint of a testable research framework.

The commitment-trust theory of relationship marketing (Morgan and Hunt 1994) provides a framework for exploring the interdependency and reciprocity inherent in exchange relationships and can be extended to inter-organizational networks. Fundamentally, inter-organizational networks seek to capture strengths from exchange members and synergistically enhance efficiency and effectiveness (Brass et al. 2004). Together, relationship commitment and trust lead to cooperation (Morgan and Hunt 1994) that in turn allows organizations to efficiently and effectively respond to and compete in the global marketplace (Newell and Swan 2000; Zaheer et al. 2010; Zaheer and Harris 2005). Commitment-trust theory and the relationship marketing literature provide a useful conceptual framework for exploring the antecedents to participation in inter-organizational relationships and the mediating effect of relationship commitment and trust on participation.

This paper contributes to the literature by extending the commitment-trust theory of relationship marketing (Morgan and Hunt 1994) to inter-organizational networks. Specifically, this paper provides a research framework that identifies antecedents and consequences of relationship commitment and trust related to participation in inter-organizational networks. Propositions are developed and future research directions are provided. The model serves as a framework for testing these relationships in the near future using a high-involvement service setting.