Inter-organizational trust and knowledge sharing model between manufacturer and supplier in the automotive industry

Abstract

The relationship between manufacturer and supplier in the automotive industry involves process of knowledge sharing. Knowledge sharing is an important process that may improve manufacturer and supplier performances. In a co-opetition business environment, companies tend to limit knowledge sharing, if they regard their partners as potential competitors. Trust is used to reflect the level of co-opetition relationship. This study identified the influence of inter-organizational trust towards knowledge sharing, and identified factors affecting inter-organizational trust (participation, communication, influence strategy, power, opportunistic behavior, behavioral uncertainty, inter-personal trust). Additionally, this study identified factors affecting inter-personal trust (expertise, likability, and interaction). Data were collected from 97 manufacturer-supplier relationships in Indonesia. The results of this study, power and behavioral uncertainty have non-significant influence towards inter-organizational trust, as well as interaction towards inter-personal trust.