Abstract
Trust is regarded as a critical feature and a central mechanism in business transactions, especially in the Chinese guanxi network. In this context, the major objective of this research is to explore the key factors influencing trust in different stages of a construction project from the perspectives of owners and consultants involved in a Sino-German eco-park in China. The analytic network process (ANP) was employed to assess which factors are most closely related to trust and to establish four models to meet the objective of this study. According to the ANP results, trust is strongly influenced by factors that are associated with the mutual interests between owners and consultants. In addition, there are certain differences in the priority of the factors influencing initial trust between owners and consultants, but these gaps gradually decrease over time. The weight of guanxi also decreases over time, and the owners’ and consultants’ guanxi transforms from out-group to in-group focused.
Highlights
Trust has been found to be a key feature and a central mechanism in business transactions, especially in the Chinese context (Jin, Ling 2005)
China is characterized by a relatively ineffective legal system, strong collectivism and high power distance (Cao, Lumineau 2015). It seems that formal institutions and informal institutions are complementary in China, whereas these institutions are independent in Western countries, where there is a greater focus on formal institutions and individualism
We investigated the priorities of factors influencing trust based on the case of the Sino-German eco-park
Summary
Trust has been found to be a key feature and a central mechanism in business transactions, especially in the Chinese context (Jin, Ling 2005). Trust is regarded as a rational choice, a social and cultural phenomenon, and a psychological status that is related to national values (Girmscheid, Brockmann 2010; Harris, Dibben 1999). In the new institutional economics system, Williamson (2000) divided institutions into four levels or categories: (1) social or culture embeddedness; (2) basic institutional environment; (3) institutions of governance; and (4) resource allocation and complementation. China is characterized by a relatively ineffective legal system, strong collectivism and high power distance (Cao, Lumineau 2015). It seems that formal institutions and informal institutions are complementary in China, whereas these institutions are independent in Western countries, where there is a greater focus on formal institutions and individualism. Chinese people are more concerned with relationship marketing in “guanxi”
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