مطالعه مقایسه ای اعتماد مصرف کننده و محصولات وارد کنندگان B2B و تعهد: شواهدی از یک کشور در حال توسعه آسیایی

This paper develops and empirically tests a theoretical model integrating the predictors and consequences of relationship trust and commitment behaviour concerning consumer and B2B goods importers in an Asian developing market setting. A sample of 93 B2B and 139 consumer goods importers is used to test the model employing structural equation modelling. The results provide clear evidence that transaction-specific investment, environmental volatility and communication have varying impacts on trust and commitment and thus affecting international buyers’ relationships and their international exchange operations. The findings broaden and deepen our understanding of how consumer and B2B goods international exchange partners’ varying relationship outcomes can help reinforce their international relationships with foreign suppliers. These findings have strategic implications for maintaining effective relationships between B2B and consumer goods importers which are highlighted in this paper.

The purpose of this paper is to develop and test a research model that integrates the predictors and consequences of relationship trust and commitment behaviour of importers of consumer and business goods (B2B) in an Asian developing country setting. Over the last three decades research in the fields of international marketing and purchasing as well as industrial marketing and purchasing (IMP, 1982) have focused on international supplier–customer relations, apart from emphasising the buyer–seller interactions and relationship marketing paradigm (Ford and Håkansson, 2006 and Wiley et al., 2005). In particular IMP research addressed a number of issues related to the relationship marketing paradigm especially in the context of buyer–seller interactions in industrial exchange settings at the national and cross-cultural level (Wiley et al., 2005). The extant literature provides empirical evidence concerning exporters’ trust and commitment behaviours mostly in the context of economically developed countries (e.g., Abdul-Muhmin, 2002 and Coote et al., 2003) focusing on buyer–seller relationships in the retail context. Relatively little research has been conducted on issues concerning international trade practices and importers’ perspectives (Johanson and Vahlne, 2006). Furthermore, studies examining the predictors of importer trust and commitment concerning consumer goods or B2B goods are limited. Interestingly, an extensive search of the international literature revealed that research has yet to compare consumer and industrial importer trust and commitment in any developed or emerging country. Therefore, this study has integrated some unique predictor variables of trust and commitment and their outcomes in a new research framework. In this paper, an attempt is made to compare the findings in terms of consumer and B2B importers’ perceptions in an Asian developing market. Testing the model is likely to produce evidence that will help refine, broaden and deepen our understanding of: firstly, the complexities and dynamics of the critical issues concerning consumer and B2B goods importers; and secondly, external suppliers’ relationships in an emerging market.

Based on extant assertions in the academic literature, we proposed that the trust and commitment behaviour and their instigating factors are alike in two importer categories. They have the same consequential impacts. Accordingly, this study makes significant contributions to an understanding of importer–supplier patterns of trust and commitment in terms of IP and TC theories. In this sense, this study can be considered an advancement over previous studies. The findings revealed some specific variations and they have contextual, practical and managerial implications. The results clearly suggest that knowledge and experience are primary tools that boost consumer and business product importers’ commitment to their relationship and lend support to the recent arguments put forward by pioneers of the IP approach (Johanson and Vahlne, 2006). However, the assertion that a high degree of knowledge and experience builds trust is not validated by the consumer product importers. This indicates that such importing firms in general are not concerned with enhancing international business knowledge and experience so that they can build a trusting relationship with suppliers. Similarly, the null effect of bilateral communication between the importer and supplier on importer trust signifies that the mechanism and importance of communication for consumer product importers are different from business product importers. The former are likely to be reluctant in developing trust to maintain their long-term importer–supplier relationship. Nevertheless, communication of information plays a strong role in augmenting business importers’ trust and reinforces the point that importer–supplier communication is the key to constructing successful relationships (Coote et al., 2003 and Mohr et al., 1996). This also extends previous research findings by ascertaining the robust effect of communication on trust in research on business product importers in a developing country. This finding was also validated by the (qualitative) statement made by the respondents below: Communication is one of the key factors for success of our business. Effective communication ensures initial transaction to take place which is then followed by a series of successful transactions towards building trust. The trust building process involves development of confidence, trustworthiness, truthfulness and, sincerity. The final outcome of this process is commitment. This example of qualitative evidence suggests that the communication between importer and supplier helps build trust and further enhances commitment to the relationship. As expected, the effect of supplier opportunism on importer trust and commitment implies that when the importer believes that supply partners have a proclivity for opportunism, this perception leads to loss of trust in both the samples and total sample. Correspondingly, as previously postulated, such an opportunistic drift of suppliers results in a diminished commitment to the relationship because importers believe it is not feasible to trust their suppliers in a long-term relationship (Morgan and Hunt, 1994). This finding lends support to what has been found in previous studies (Skarmeas et al., 2002), and suggests that if a supplier’s guile and self-interest-seeking stance is axiomatic, the long-term relationship will be compromised and importer transaction costs with such a supplier will increase (Williamson, 1985). As a result, importing firms need to be cautious when establishing contracts and agreements with the supplier by clarifying all terms and conditions to avoid situational advantage due to vague provisions and stipulations in the transaction. The non-significant results regarding the impact of environmental volatility and partially significant results for the transaction-specific investment (TSI) are contributory evidence for practitioners. The results clearly suggest that this volatile situation could encourage partners to collaborate and improve their transaction-specific investment processes to maintain a long-term relationship (Skarmeas et al., 2002). The results may also imply that importing firms operating in similar countries and gaining experience from managing business in internally volatile environments are in a position to handle international business efficiently. This finding contributes to the evidence that supports business importers TSI and their commitment. The result of the business importers sample suggests that TSI is an attachment bond for such committed importers, pledging transacting parties in a dedicated relationship, since this investment is non-redeployable and unique to a specific transaction (Kim, 2001 and Kim and Oh, 2002). Rather than positing a relationship between environmental volatility and TSI, the results suggest that volatility is not a significant factor for both categories of importers. It may therefore imply that foreign investors can invest in TSI mood where business importers are inclined to maintain long-term committed relationships. This further suggests that a long-term committed relationship is a prerequisite for them to gain a relationship advantage. In contrast, consumer product importer TSI has no effect on their commitment, suggesting that they maintain an ad hoc relationship with their supplier and are likely to switch frequently from one supplier to another. As expected the results relating to the ultimate outcome are consistent with the extant findings. The significant link between trust and importer performance consequences revealed in this study adds to knowledge to the international business domain. This conjecture about the relationship has been borrowed from various contexts (Saleh and Ali, 2009), and so far had not been tested empirically. This provides support to similar findings in previous research such as logistics alliance relationship effectiveness (Moore, 1998), long-term intention to stay in the relationship (Ruyter et al., 2001) and financial performance in the distributor supplier relationship (Siguaw et al., 1998). Consistent with specific importer commitment behaviour literature (Skarmeas et al., 2002), our research lends empirical support to and validates the notion that importing firms’ commitment is an essential and decisive building block to enhance how well they perform in the importer–supplier relationship. The qualitative findings further provide support as to concerning how importers’ commitment to suppliers develops. As two importers’ commented: ----it has taken a long time to develop commitment as the relational process involved verification and observation of their trustworthiness. At early stage of our relationship, I have observed my suppliers’ trustworthiness on the basis of reliability of the products supplied their sincerity and promise keeping records. The positive findings of these tests rendered me commit to my suppliers. The quantitative research outcome reinforces the contention that commitment is also critical for developing effectiveness, productivity, relationship usefulness and obtaining rewards. Our sample mean (consumer = 10.54, business = 9.92) and the effect of commitment on performance indicate that commitment pays off not only in terms of outstanding benefits to importers but also to exporters in the dyad context. Commitment is, in effect, an enduring outcome of the relationship. Exporting firms may also want to develop an affiliation with import distributors in order to buttress their foreign markets. In other words, this process is an interplay between the developments of knowledge about foreign markets and operations on one hand and an increasing commitment of resources to foreign markets on the other.