Building Interpersonal Trust in Business Networks : Enablers and Roadblocks
Hakanen, M., Kossou, L., & Takala, T. (2016). Building Interpersonal Trust in Business Networks : Enablers and Roadblocks. Journal of Business Models, 4 (1), 45-62. Retrieved from http://journalofbusinessmodels.com/media/1173/vol-4-no-1-pp-45-62.pdf
Published in
Journal of Business ModelsDate
2016Copyright
© the Authors, 2016. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of a Creative Commons License.
Purpose: This study examines how interpersonal trust forms in business networks and anchors relationships. Trust
can be seen as a required factor and enabler for co-creation that is needed when business models are created. This
study draws on empirical data from a case study of a Finnish business network in the healthcare and pharmaceutical
industries. It seeks to answer the research question: How does interpersonal trust start to develop at the business
network level and how it can be supported?
Design: This article draws on a case study of a Finnish business network which was developed through theme interviews
and observation conducted in 2012.
Findings: The findings support existing research on interpersonal trust, and emphasize three key characteristics
of interpersonal trust building: (1) It is a slow process that can be easily discontinued by definite roadblocks. (2) It
requires that the parties have knowledge about one another and a rapport; that they show respect and fairness,
keep their promises, and most importantly, communicate efectively. (3) It should be based on shared responsibilities
among the network members. The key finding is the importance of informal meetings that is not highly noticed
in the research field. Informal meetings support more the building of we-spirit and crazy ideas that are important
when new business models and innovations are built.
Research limitations / Implictions: This case study considers one business network in Finland. Further research
would be required in order to generalise the findings on a larger scale or to other contexts.
Originality / Value: Despite the significant attention given to interpersonal trust in management literature, less
research has focused on understanding how it forms in inter-organisational settings. Moreover, the focus is usually
in dyadic relations in network studies but this study focus on the level of whole network.
...


Publisher
Aalborg University PressISSN Search the Publication Forum
2246-2465Keywords
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Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as © the Authors, 2016. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of a Creative Commons License.
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