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3 - Towards a context-sensitive approach to researching trust in inter-organizational relationships

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2012

By
Reinhard Bachmann
Edited by
Mark N. K. Saunders ,
Denise Skinner ,
Graham Dietz ,
Nicole Gillespie  and
Roy J. Lewicki
Reinhard Bachmann
Affiliation:
University of Surrey
Mark N. K. Saunders
Affiliation:
University of Surrey
Denise Skinner
Affiliation:
Coventry University
Graham Dietz
Affiliation:
University of Durham
Nicole Gillespie
Affiliation:
University of Queensland
Roy J. Lewicki
Affiliation:
Ohio State University
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Summary

Summary

This chapter argues that trust is an inherently context-bound concept. With reference to the results of the Cambridge Vertical Contracts Project (CVCP) which examined supplier relations in the UK and Germany, it is shown that the nature and quality of inter-organizational trust varies greatly over different cultural and institutional environments. As a consequence, it is suggested that an appropriate research methodology needs to either draw on a mixed method approach involving different techniques to collect and analyse data (as has been done in the CVCP), or – perhaps even more suitably – utilize repertory grids to research a social phenomenon as complex as trust in a comparative perspective. The potential of the repertory-grid method is illustrated with reference to an empirical project on collaborative relationships in two virtual organizations in Switzerland.

Introduction

Over the past two decades or so, trust has attracted much attention in the management literature. Many scholars have tried to come to grips with this phenomenon and discovered many aspects of it which seem worth thorough investigation. The relationships between trust and contracts, trust and innovation and trust and institutions are among the most developed sub-themes of trust research. Key publications have recently tried to summarize where we stand and to take stock of the major results in this research field (e.g. Bachmann and Zaheer, 2006; Bachmann and Zaheer, 2008; Kramer, 2006). As these publications show, significant progress has been made and some very important insights have been gained into how trust works in business relationships.

Type
Chapter
Information
Organizational Trust
A Cultural Perspective
 , pp. 87 - 106
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2010

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