Interorganizational trust, perceived risk and exchange performance in inter-firm relations

This article offers some theoretical and empirical contributions to the literature on relational exchange by examining the nature of subjective trust and perceived risk in buyer-supplier relationships. The relational view represents the theoretical framework for the research. Given that, the study explores the theoretical proposition that subjective trust and perceived risk in buyer-supplier relationships impact on exchange performance through the mediating effects of four sources of relational rents: asset specificity; knowledge-sharing routines; resource-capabilities complementarity, and effective governance. The theoretical model also considers the context influence in qualifying trust-risk interaction. The analysis of data from a sample of buyer-supplier relationships in the fashion industry by using a structural equation model provides support for the hypotheses. The results indicate that subjective trust and perceived risk are related constructs and play different roles in affecting exchange performance. The findings also highlight the critical role played by knowledge-sharing routine and resource-capabilities complementarity as full mediators in the relationships of subjective trust with exchange performance.