"Predictors of Trust in Buyer-Supplier Relations: A Contextual and Cultural Comparison of Japan and Turkey"

Trust is a dimension of buyer-supplier relations being researched widely, but studies have generally focused on developed economies. Developing countries, however, have contextual and cultural factors that may differentiate them from developed countries. This study attempts to apply a theoretical model developed for the US, Japan, and Korea to a developing country context, namely Turkey. While Turkey has cultural similarities to Japan in terms of collectivism and risk aversion, the results of the theoretical model show that is does not fit the Turkish case. Suggestions are made to extend the model theoretically and measurement-wise to help explain trust building factors in developing countries.

Artificial Intelligence, International Competition, and the Balance of Power (May 2018)

World leaders, CEOs, and academics have suggested that a revolution in artificial intelligence is upon us. Are they right, and what will advances in artificial intelligence mean for international competition and the balance of power? This article evaluates how developments in artificial intelligence (AI) — advanced, narrow applications in particular — are poised to influence military power and international politics. It describes how AI more closely resembles “enabling” technologies such as the combustion engine or electricity than a specific weapon. AI’s still-emerging developments make it harder to assess than many technological changes, especially since many of the organizational decisions about the adoption and uses of new technology that generally shape the impact of that technology are in their infancy. The article then explores the possibility that key drivers of AI development in the private sector could cause the rapid diffusion of military applications of AI, limiting first-mover advantages for innovators. Alternatively, given uncertainty about the technological trajectory of AI, it is also possible that military uses of AI will be harder to develop based on private-sector AI technologies than many expect, generating more potential first-mover advantages for existing powers such as China and the United States, as well as larger consequences for relative power if a country fails to adapt. Finally, the article discusses the extent to which U.S. military rhetoric about the importance of AI matches the reality of U.S. investments.LBJ School of Public Affair

Ethics and taxation : a cross-national comparison of UK and Turkish firms

This paper investigates responses to tax related ethical issues facing busines

The Determinants of Inter-Firm trust in Supplier-Automaker Relationships In the U.S., Japan, and Korea

In this paper we examine the determinants of supplier trust in the buyer in 453supplier-automaker relationships in the U. S., Japan, and Korea. We define trust and derive a model of its determinants drawing upon (1) an embeddedness (relationship-based) perspective, (2) a processbased perspective, and an (3) economic (hostage-based) perspective. Our findings indicate strong support for the process-based perspective in all countries; embeddedness (e.g., length of relationship) was only important as a determinant of trust in Japan, and the hostage-based variable (stock ownership) was not important in any country. More specifically, we found that high supplier trust emerges when (1) automakers have developed supplier-selection routines that favor incumbents and which maintain a continuing (repeated) exchange relationship with the supplier, and (2) automakers have developed assistance-giving routines to help suppliers solve problems and improve. Although there were some differences across institutional environments, notably higher trust in Japan, the findings are quite robust across the institutional environments. Indeed, in a sample of U.S. suppliers selling to both U.S. and Japanese automakers in the United States, we found that Japanese automakers were more effective than U.S. automakers at building trusting relations with U.S. suppliers. The ability of Japanese automakers to build high levels of trust with suppliers in the United States suggests that the institutional environment may be less important than firm-level practices in the production of inter-organizational trust

The Determinants of Interfirm Trust: Evidence from Supplier Automaker Relationships in the U.S., Japan and Korea

This paper has been accepted for presentation at the Academy of Management Meetings, Cincinnati, 1996.The determinants of interfirm trust are examined in 453 supplier automaker relationships in the U.S., Japan, and Korea. The findings indicate high supplier trust emerges when (1) suppliers receive assistance from the automaker, (2) the automaker has a track record of maintaining a continuing (repeated) exchange relationship with the supplier. Although there were some differences across institutional environments, notably higher trust in Japan, the findings are robust across the three institutional environments. Indeed, in a sample of U.S. suppliers that worked with both U.S. and Japanese automakers in the United States, we found that Japanese automakers were more effective than U.S. automakers at building trusting relations with U.S. suppliers. Thus, firm level practices appear to be more important than the institutional environment in the development of interfirm trust. A central issue in the literature on strategic alliances and interfirm cooperation is how firms create trust and control opportunism, particularly when the transactors have made investments in transaction specific assets. Under these conditions, trust has been described as an important antecedent to interorganizational cooperation and economic efficiency (Sako, 1991; Smith, Carroll, and Ashford, 1995). In fact, recent research suggests that trust in supplier buyer relations may be an important source of competitive advantage because it: (1) lowers transaction costs and allows for greater flexibility to respond to changing market conditions (Dore, 1983; Sako, 1991; Barney & Hansen, 1995; Dyer, forthcoming), (2) facilitates investments in special purpose assets and technologies which enhance productivity (Asanuma, 1989; Lorenz, 1988; Dyer, 1994), and (3) leads to superior information sharing routines which improve coordination and joint efforts to minimize inefficiencies (Fruin, 1992; Clark & Fujimoto, 1991; Nishiguchi, 1994). Moreover, some scholars claim that national economic efficiency is highly correlated with the existence of a high trust institutional environment (North, 1990; Casson, 1991; Hill, 1995; Fukuyama, 1995). For example, Fukuyama (1995:7) argues that the economic success of a nation, "as well as its ability to compete, is conditioned by the level of trust inherent in the society." The findings from these, and other, studies have increased our attention on the important role of trust in economic exchanges. A natural response to these studies has been to exhort companies to build trust with their trading partners (Business Week, 1986, 1992) and to call for increased research on the role of trust in coordinating economic activity (Smith, Carroll, and Ashford, 1995). However, before an explicit strategy for developing trust can be developed, or considered feasible, the determinants of trust must be identified. Despite considerable academic and managerial interest in trust between trading partners, to date there has been little empirical research on the antecedents or determinants of interorganizational trust (i.e. between supplier buyer). Further, there has been little research on whether the determinants of trust differ in different institutional (i.e. country) environments. The purpose of this paper is to examine the determinants of supplier trust in a sample of supplier/automaker relationships in the United States, Japan, and Korea. Given the recent attention on the importance of trust in exchange relationships, an examination of the determinants of trust is, by itself, a valuable undertaking. However, due to the globalization of industries and a dramatic increase in international joint ventures, a study of the determinants of trust in different institutional environments is particularly valuable. Such a study is useful because it allows for an examination of those factors that are important determinants of trust both within, as well as across, countries.The International Motor Vehicle Program at MI