The empirical research on interorganizational trust in firm network relationships — Factors, path and mechanism

Today, Firm networks are receiving an increasing attention in China. Interorganizational trust is the basis of formation and operation of the network organization. Previous studies are most focus on the trust in bureaucratic organizations, interorganizational trust among network partners has been little researched. The study explores the factors which influence interorganizational trust creation in firm networks, it also investigates how they work and the interrelationship of them. In the survey, 4 latent variables and 39 observed variables are conducted in structural equation model (SEM). It finds that network strategic security will significantly enhance the interorganizational trust among network partners and so on. Furthermore, the implications for alliance managers are also discussed.