Trust in Interorganizational Relationships

Abstract

Prior research on interorganizational trust (IOT) has drawn on multiple theories across disciplines, resulting in mixed findings. This meta-analysis combines the three major theories of IOT, namely, transaction cost economics, social embeddedness theory, and resource dependence theory, to retheorize about these IOT relationships. Specifically, we consolidate 168 tests of IOT across theories and corroborate the additive predictive validity of each of the three theories and their combined explanations on IOT development. In particular, by combining IOT theories, we find an inverted U-shaped relationship between relationship duration and IOT; we also find an intertemporal link among the three IOT theories, and relationship duration as the spanning factor functions to moderate the IOT relationships across theories. These findings serve to reconcile prior conflicting findings and shed new light on IOT development. We conclude our meta-analysis by providing directions for future research.