Mutual and interactive trust in business dyads: condition and process

Purpose – The objective of this research is to describe and develop a conceptual framework that differs between the constructs of mutual and interactive trust in business dyads. Design/methodology/approach – This study is based upon the empirical findings of a survey between a vehicle manufacturer (VM) and its most important suppliers. Findings – On an overall level, there is both mutual and interactive trust between the VM and its suppliers, although on a specific level there is hardly any mutual trust, while there is interactive trust in the studied dyads, where one's trust is increasing the other's trust is decreasing. Research limitations/implications – The fact that the research was based upon a VM and its most important suppliers implies that the empirical findings of this research might not be generalised beyond the automotive industry. Another limitation has been the use of a trend dimension to estimate the interactive trust in the studied business dyads. Theoretical and managerial implications, as well as concluding thoughts and suggestions for further research of multidisciplinary and marketing channel aspects, are also provided. Practical implications – Empirically, the research contributes to explore the constructs of mutual and interactive trust in business dyads. The theoretical and empirical contributions serve as a fundament and a structure for further research of mutual and interactive trust. Originality/value – Theoretically, the contribution is a conceptual framework that distinguishes between mutual and interactive trust based upon two generic determinants, namely condition and process. A suggestion for further research is therefore to explore the process of interactive trust in business dyads at several occasions, and to match this to the condition of mutual trust. Accordingly, the empirical findings of mutual and interactive trust have to be further explored in different business dyads across industries.