Trust formation in cross‐cultural business‐to‐business relationships

Given the increase in the globalisation of the world's economies, the importance of building successful cross‐cultural business to business partnerships is emerging as a critical strategy for organisations to consider. For these forms of relationships trust has been identified as an essential component of success. However, little is known about the development and formation of trust in cross‐cultural business to business relationships. Consequently, triangulating two qualitative techniques, this paper examines the development of trust through the initial three stages of the relationship lifecycle. Findings suggest that trust develops in markedly different forms dependent on the lifecycle stage of the relationships.