What breaks trust in customer supplier relationship?

摘要

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to understand what breaks trust in a customer supplierrnrelationship and how to repair it.rnDesign/methodology/approach - The approach takes a single case study to test the establishedrntheories on trust. It captures the circumstances and conditions of everyday situation in business and itrnis a longitudinal study covering three years' experience of two organisations in business.rnFindings - The important findings of this case study are that knowledge, level of risk and level ofrnrisk tolerance of customers/suppliers are the main causes of trust break down. Though the research onrntrust focus on partner's characteristics such as benevolence, honesty, reliability, credibility, integrity,rncontracts, agreements etc., in the context of B2B relationship these perspectives can only help thernpartners in evaluating the other partner as trust worthy. Once the partners engage in the relationshiprnthe orientation will change towards perspectives of rational risk. If the risk level exceeds their bearablernlimits, trust will break. Trust repair depends on the convincing power of the trustees, and how andrnwhy the trustor should bear the uncertainty or risk involved in the relationship.rnResearch limitations/implications - With its focus on two business partners this case cannot berngeneralised to all business settings. However, the in-depth analysis stimulates further research on howrntrust may break between partners and how and who (trustor/trustee) should initiate trust repairrnprocess.rnPractical implications - Practicing managers and research scholars can use this case in trustrnbuilding process in customer supplier relationship.rnOriginality/value - The paper presents a case that is original.