The role of supplier performance in building customer trust and loyalty: A cross-country examination

Building trust in buyer–seller relationships is a focal issue in relationship marketing. However, there are mixed results concerning the performance outcomes of trust. Also, no attention has been given to linking supplier performance aspects to the development of trusting relationships. In this study we propose a conceptual model of supplier performance drivers and customer loyalty consequences of trust in supplier–organizational customer relationships. We test the model relationships using data from three different countries, namely, France, Hungary, and the U.K., in an effort to assess the extent to which the development and outcomes of trust are consistent across different countries. The results suggest that supplier performance in product quality and sales service quality is conducive to trust building across all three countries. Supplier performance in technical repair service support enhances trust in the market contexts of France and Hungary, but has no significant effect in the case of the U.K. Nonetheless, supplier performance in complaint handling has a positive effect on trust in the U.K. and French contexts, but no link is established in the context of Hungary. Further, the results show that trust enhances customer loyalty across all countries. Moreover, we find that firm size negatively moderates the trust–loyalty relationship in all the countries, with this link being not significant among larger firms in France and Hungary. The results have important theoretical and practical implications for international relationship marketing.