Trust in Cross-Cultural Business-to-Business Relationships: The Case of the Former Yugoslav Markets

In the paper the authors present a model of trust where they integrate cultural specifics along with the manifestation and dynamic of trust. The model consists of trust, relationship commitment and values affected by the current market situation and cultural specifics. Application of the model is given by the comparison of business relationships on two former Yugoslav markets, Serbia and Croatia. The survey of more than 400 large and medium sized companies from Serbian and Croatian market showed that Serbian companies evaluate trust, relationship commitment, length and tradition of relationships on a higher level of importance than Croatian companies. The differences in trust and its evaluation in current business relationships are explained through the influence of post-war market situations and cultural implications. Introduction and Theoretical Background Numerous authors have defined trust and relationship commitment as vital components for relationships. In business-to-business relationships, where outcomes depend on the behaviour and intent of partners, trust is particularly crucial (Johnson and Cullen, 2002). Trust in business-to-business relationships presents a component of integrated knowledge of relationship variables, such as “trust involve a belief that one relationship partner will act in the best interests of the other partner” (Anderson and Narus (1984), Wilson and Möller (1991), Morgan and Hunt (1994)). Trust definitions derive from a number of diverse areas including social exchange theory, contractual relations theory (Macneil, 1980), trust theory (Gambetta, 1988), organisational theory, the literature on moral development, the literature on buyer-seller exchange relations (see Tynan, O ́Malley, 1997). A lot of IMP contributions (e.g.Häkanson, 1982; Wilson, 1995) have clarified the importance of trust in relationship contexts. The majority of definitions of trust are focused on the ability to test the existence 2 of trust in an exchange relationship and rely on the notion of trust as a belief or expectation in exchange relationships (Tynan, O ́Malley, 1997). In buyer-seller relationships commitment is defined as “the desire to continue the relationship and to work to ensure its continuance” (Wilson, 1995; Anderson and Narus, 1984; Morgan and Hunt, 1994; Dwyer et al., 1987) or as “an implicit or explicit pledge or relational continuity between exchange partners (Dwyer, Schurr, Oh, 1987). The majority of literature distinguishes between three different types of commitment based on the underlying motives – affective commitment, cost-induced commitment and obligation-based commitment. Our understanding of commitment is based on affective motives such as emotional attachment, belonging and respect for the partner, which manifest in the form of a liking to develop and strengthen the relationship with another person or group (Sharma et al., 2001). Affective commitment is explained by some in terms of the congruence of values and goals among participants. This means that relationship participants have common beliefs about behaviour, goals, and policies (Buchanan 1974; Mowday et al. 1982; Brown, Lusch and Nicholson 1995; Kim and Frazier 1997). Socio-cultural literature defines value as “an enduring believe that one mode of conduct of end-state of existence is preferable to an opposing mode of conduct or end-state of existence” (Rokeach, 1973, p.5). Values have cognitive, affective, and behavioural components. In general, a value is a preference of one mode of behaviour over another mode of behaviour and these modes are not only influenced by culture but also are very diverse when different cultures are compared (De Mooij, 1999). Morgan and Hunt (1994), define values as: shared values in business relationships are the extent to which partners