Exploring the role of culture in trust development with service providers

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to explore how customers from different cultures develop trust with service providers to uncover underlying dimensions of trust development for customers from different cultures.Design/methodology/approach – This study utilizes semi‐structured phenomenological depth interviews to explore the role of culture in the development of trust with service providers.Findings – Customers' direct service experiences in their native culture and in the culture where they reside (in this study the USA), as well as recommendations from others appear to be the major determinants of trust. Furthermore, a customer's trust in a recommender seems to transfer over to a service provider.Research limitations/implications – Because all informants were from one foreign culture (Korean), the findings related to primarily this group. Further generalization of these findings should only be made after studies conducted with informants from other foreign cultures.Practical implications – Service ...

[1]  Joseph P. Cannon,et al.  Understanding the Influence of National Culture on the Development of Trust , 1998 .

[2]  W. Wells.  Discovery-oriented consumer research. , 1993 .

[3]  William B. Locander,et al.  Putting Consumer Experience Back into Consumer Research: The Philosophy and Method of Existential-Phenomenology , 1989 .

[4]  F. Dwyer,et al.  Developing Buyer-Seller Relationships: , 1987 .

[5]  Anselm L. Strauss,et al.  Qualitative Analysis For Social Scientists , 1987 .

[6]  Joseph P. Cannon,et al.  An Examination of the Nature of Trust in Buyer–Seller Relationships: , 1997 .

[7]  L. Berry.  Relationship marketing of services—growing interest, emerging perspectives , 1995 .

[8]  R. Bagozzi.  Reflections on relationship marketing in consumer markets , 1995 .

[9]  J. E. Swan,et al.  How industrial salespeople gain customer trust , 1985 .

[10]  M. Bond,et al.  The Confucius connection: From cultural roots to economic growth , 1988 .

[11]  H. Kelley,et al.  Interpersonal relations: A theory of interdependence , 1978 .

[12]  Shankar Ganesan.  Determinants of Long-Term Orientation in Buyer-Seller Relationships , 1994 .

[13]  G. Zaltman,et al.  Relationships between Providers and Users of Market Research: The Dynamics of Trust within and between Organizations , 1992 .

[14]  M. Patton,et al.  Qualitative evaluation and research methods , 1992 .

[15]  Peter J. Strub,et al.  Two Patterns of Establishing Trust: The Marijuana User , 1976 .

[16]  J. G. Holmes.  Trust and the appraisal process in close relationships. , 1991 .

[17]  Barton A. Weitz,et al.  The Use of Pledges to Build and Sustain Commitment in , 1992 .

[18]  James A. Narus,et al.  A Model of Distributor Firm and Manufacturer Firm Working Partnerships , 1990 .

[19]  Shankar Ganesan,et al.  Dimensions and Levels of Trust: Implications for Commitment to a Relationship , 1997 .

[20]  G. Odekerken-Schröder,et al.  Investments in Consumer Relationships: A Cross-Country and Cross-Industry Exploration , 2001 .

[21]  Jagdip Singh,et al.  Agency and trust mechanisms in consumer satisfaction and loyalty judgments , 2000 .

[22]  C. Geertz.  "From the Native's Point of View": On the Nature of Anthropological Understanding , 1974 .

[23]  S. Beatty,et al.  Relationship Marketing From the ConsumerS Perspective: a Comparison of Consumers in South Korea and the United States , 1998 .

[24]  Lawrence A. Crosby,et al.  Relationship Quality in Services Selling: An Interpersonal Influence Perspective: , 1990 .

[25]  Jakki J. Mohr,et al.  Communication Strategies in Marketing Channels: A Theoretical Perspective , 1990 .

[26]  H. W. Kee,et al.  Conceptual and methodological considerations in the study of trust and suspicion , 1970 .

[27]  S. Fournier,et al.  Consumers and Their Brands: Developing Relationship Theory in Consumer Research , 1998 .

[28]  K. Reynolds,et al.  Customer-sales associate retail relationships , 1996 .

[29]  E. Hirschman,et al.  Understanding the Socialized Body: A Poststructuralist Analysis of Consumers' Self-Conceptions, Body Images, and Self-Care Practices , 1995 .

[30]  S. Hunt,et al.  The Commitment-Trust Theory of Relationship Marketing , 1994 .

[31]  Craig J Thompson.  Caring Consumers: Gendered Consumption Meanings and the Juggling Lifestyle , 1996 .

[32]  K. Crittenden,et al.  Self-Effacement and Social Responsibility , 1994 .

[33]  Grant Mccracken.  The long interview , 1988 .

[34]  Dwayne D. Gremler,et al.  Understanding Relationship Marketing Outcomes , 2002 .