Successful business relationships lead to increased sales and profit with trust one of the key factors contributing to successful relationships according to the results of a recent study.

 

David Dowell from Charles Sturt University’s Institute for Land, Water and Society has recently completed a PhD research project looking at the role of trust in business-to-business relationships. He said trust was one of several factors, including commitment, communication and liking, which influenced the success of these relationships.

 

“Trust is a multifaceted concept which has both rational and emotional aspects,” he said. “The rational aspect of trust is based on the existence of contracts or qualifications or reputation.  However emotional trust is based more on a sense of connectedness with the staff of other organisations.” 

 

Four hundred and fifty small businesses across regional New South Wales were surveyed for the study.

 

“The insights gained will be helpful to other regional businesses,” said Mr Dowell. “Business operators can use this study to identify the factors that they can change in their business to increase trust, communication, commitment and liking. This is likely to improve the success of business-to-business relationships.”

 

Mr Dowell will present his research at a workshop on Tuesday 27 November from 12:30pm to 2:30pm at the Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Centre, and all interested are welcome to attend. David Dowell will be followed by Professor Louise Young from the University of Technology Sydney, who will talk about two decades of research into trust.