Factors affecting the level of trust and commitment in supply chain relationships.: An article from: Journal of Supply Chain Management

This digital document is an article from Journal of Supply Chain Management, published by National Association of Purchasing Management, Inc. on March 22, 2004. The length of the article is 8454 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

From the author: Trust is a critical factor fostering commitment among supply chain partners. The presence of trust improves measurably the chance of successful supply chain performance. A lack of trust among supply chain partners often results in inefficient and ineffective performance as the transaction costs (verification, inspections and certifications of their trading partners) mount. Although the literature often mentions a relationship between trust and commitment, there is a lack of empirical testing of such relationship in the supply context. This study attempts to fill the gap between the theoretical argument and empirical testing. Results using a comprehensive survey of supply chain practitioners indicate that a firm's trust in its supply chain partner is highly associated with both sides' specific asset investments (positively) and behavioral uncertainty (negatively). It is also found that information sharing reduces the level of behavioral uncertainty, which, in turn, improves the level of trust. A partner's reputation in the market has a strong positive impact on the trust-building process, whereas a partner's perceived conflict creates a strong negative impact on trust. Finally, the level of commitment is strongly related to the level of trust. Policy implications are discussed.

Citation Details
Title: Factors affecting the level of trust and commitment in supply chain relationships.
Author: Ik-Whan G. Kwon
Publication:Journal of Supply Chain Management (Refereed)
Date: March 22, 2004
Publisher: National Association of Purchasing Management, Inc.
Volume: 40 Issue: 2 Page: 4(11)

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