Paper info

TOWARDS MEASURING INTER-ORGANIZATIONAL TRUST - A REVIEW AND ANALYSIS OF THE EMPIRICAL RESEARCH IN 1990-2003

K Blomqvist, R Seppänen and S Sundqvist

The paper was published at the 20th IMP-conference in Copenhagen, Denmark in 2004.

In this meta-empirical study, empirical research on inter-organizational trust is reviewed. Researchon inter-organizational relationships since early 1990's has consistently argued that mutual trust isan essential factor of relationship quality and performance. The purpose of this study is to evaluatethe advancements and drawbacks of current empirical research in measuring inter-organizationaltrust. In this paper the theoretical approach, conceptualization, operationalization, andmeasurement issues in empirical studies on inter-organizational trust from 1990 to 2003 areanalyzed. Although trust has emerged as an important theme in inter-organizational relationships,there are still major conceptual and methodological challenges in studying this complex concept.The results show major inconsistency in conceptualization, operationalization, and measurement inexisting studies. Paper concludes with suggestions for further empirical research on interorganizationaltrust.