Trust Formation at the Growth Stage of a Business-to-Business Relationship

David Dowell, Troy Heffernan

Research output: Contribution to conferencePaperpeer-review

Abstract

A significant proportion of the relationship marketing research conducted in the area of trust has examined this critical relationship variable as stable over time. However, as a relationship constantly grows and develops, it is argued that trust will develop in different ways depending on the stage of the lifecycle in which the relationship exists. This research uses a case study methodology to explore trust development at the critical relationship growth stage of the business-to-business lifecycle. Findings suggest that three types of trust lead to the generation of total trust at the relationship growth stage. In order of importance, they are: (1) Competency/ability trust, (2) Goodwill/benevolence trust, and (3) Contractual/integrity trust. The contribution of this paper lies in the identification of the variables that lead to these forms of trust, thus producing total trust at the relationship growth stage.
Original languageEnglish
Publication statusPublished - 2004
EventAustralian and New Zealand Marketing Academy Conference 2004 - Wellington, New Zealand
Duration: 01 Jan 2004 → …

Conference

ConferenceAustralian and New Zealand Marketing Academy Conference 2004
Abbreviated titleANZMAC 2004
Country/TerritoryNew Zealand
CityWellington
Period01 Jan 2004 → …

Keywords

  • Trust
  • Relationship marketing
  • Trust formation
  • Relationship lifecycle

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