Trust across borders: A review of the research on interorganizational trust in international business

Author

Tengjian ZOU, Zhejiang University
Gokhan ERTUG, Singapore Management UniversityFollow
Ilya R. P. CUYPERS, Singapore Management UniversityFollow
Donald L. FERRIN, Singapore Management UniversityFollow

Publication Type

Journal Article

Version

publishedVersion

Publication Date

9-2023

Abstract

Trust between organizations has been recognized as crucial in international business (IB) and has attracted extensive research attention. Researchers have conceptualized and measured interorganizational trust in multiple ways, investigated numerous determinants and outcomes of interorganizational trust, and explored interorganizational trust in several types of international relationships across a range of country combinations using varied research methodologies. Our review aims to consolidate and advance this literature by focusing on (i) how interorganizational trust has been conceptualized in IB; (ii) how interorganizational trust has been operationalized in IB; (iii) what factors promote or hinder interorganizational trust in IB; (iv) what the outcomes are of interorganizational trust in IB; and (v) how interorganizational trust has been studied in IB. For each question, we analyze the literature and then provide recommendations and directions for future research. We aim to provide a solid grounding for future research that will keep this area theoretically sound, empirically robust, and phenomenologically relevant.

Keywords

Trust, interorganizational relationships, informal governance, international business

Discipline

International Business | Organizational Behavior and Theory | Strategic Management Policy

Research Areas

Strategy and Organisation

Publication

Journal of International Business Studies

Volume

54

First Page

1379

Last Page

1401

ISSN

0047-2506

Identifier

10.1057/s41267-023-00648-5

Publisher

Palgrave Macmillan

Embargo Period

7-17-2023

Citation

ZOU, Tengjian; ERTUG, Gokhan; CUYPERS, Ilya R. P.; and FERRIN, Donald L.. Trust across borders: A review of the research on interorganizational trust in international business. (2023). Journal of International Business Studies. 54, 1379-1401.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/lkcsb_research/7236

Copyright Owner and License

Authors

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.1057/s41267-023-00648-5