Determinants of Trust in Supplier Relations: Evidence from the Automotive Industry in Japan and the United States
Author(s)
Sako, Mari
Helper, Susan
Date Issued
July 11, 2002
Series/Report no.
IMVP;155a
Abstract
This study examines the determinants of inter-organizational trust by using survey data from
just over 1000 suppliers in the automotive industry. We define trust and derive a model of its
determinants from transaction cost economics, game theory and sociological exchange theory.
Regression analysis results indicate that determinants of trust are different from determinants of
opportunism. US-Japanese differences are found in three respects: (i) the way trust is
conceptualised by suppliers is richer in Japan than in the US; (ii) the level of trust is higher in
Japan than in the US; and (iii) the factors facilitating trust and those attenuating opportunism
differ in the US and Japan.
Subjects
auto industry
opportunism
supplier relations
trust
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