Couper, C., Reuber, R.A. and Prashantham, S. (2020) Lost that lovin' feeling: The erosion of trust between small, high-distance partners. Journal of International Business Studies, 51. pp. 326-352. ISSN 0047-2506
Abstract
We investigate the role of high distance in trust erosion between small partners. High distance is known to hinder the formation of trust between potential partners, but its role in trust erosion in established partnerships is less understood by international business scholars. Through a qualitative longitudinal study, we extend current theory of how high distance effects the trust dynamics between cross-border partners. Specifically, we unearth three inter-related mechanisms that together explain how and why trust can erode due to high distance. We show that before a partnership is formed, high distance can lead partners to erroneously attribute cues to a potential partner’s high quality, leading to over-expectations of partner performance. Once the partnership is operational, high distance hinders actors’ ability to understand situational factors associated with disappointing outcomes, and so they are attributed to failings of the partner. At the same time, distance-related challenges of bounded reliability render partners reluctant to discuss partnership outcomes. This can result in a vicious cycle of inertia as partners strive to protect goodwill while abandoning efforts to produce partnership outcome because of doubts of the other’s quality. Thus, our theoretical model illustrates the limitations of trust and explains how, paradoxically, high distance can facilitate both trust formation and trust erosion.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2019 Academy of International Business. This is an author-produced version of a paper subsequently published in Journal of International Business Studies. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | case theoretic approaches; China, longitudinal; process model; small-and-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs); trust; trust erosion |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > Management School (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 19 Dec 2019 11:13 |
Last Modified: | 23 Dec 2020 01:38 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Springer Nature |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1057/s41267-019-00286-w |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:154821 |