The development of trust over time in the Tunisian Automotive Sector

This paper examines how trust develops over time in business relationships between a number of Tunisian SMEs operating in the automotive sector. Trust has long been considered as a core element of relationship quality, which in turn has a moderating role in affecting the negotiation process between the actors. Our paper is based on a qualitative study of ten relationships in the Tunisian automotive industry. We take a monadic view, having interviewed local spare-parts resellers about their relationships with their wholesalers. Given the relatively simplistic structure of the automotive spare-parts industry, the mutual integration of needs between wholesalers and the resellers is relatively easily understood. The decision to undertake the research in Tunisia is twofold. On the one hand, there is a paucity of research based in the Maghreb countries, and hence a need to understand how business operates in this region. On the other hand, the Tunisian market structure is relatively simple, with most spare-parts being imported because of the low level of local production. Our results show that there is a mutual but not symmetric or balanced influence of trust on the behavior of the partners involved. The influence of the different parties is dependent on the power architecture, the history of the relationship and the network position of the actors. We find that different kinds of trust play different roles over the dynamics of the relationship. Perceived trust is more important at the emergent stage of a relationship, and experienced trust becomes more important in the established relationships. The perceive trust creates the possibility of building trust, and when mutual trust exists between the parties, it motivates them to maintain the relationship

Business-to-business marketing research: Assessing readability and discussing relevance to practitioners

Business practitioners tend to show little interest in academic journals, raising concerns that research-based knowledge potentially relevant to their managerial practice might evade them. The literature suggests academic writing style as one of the major reasons for this lack of interest. Against this background, we quantitatively examine the readability of 150 business-to-business (B2B) marketing research articles published in five leading journals. Our analysis identifies certain variations across journals and categories of papers, implying that it is possible to improve readability. We discuss the possible role of improved readability in encouraging practitioners to read B2B marketing research, while potentially increasing its relevance

The Business Paradigm: Explanation for Patterns of Business Interactions

Purpose: This paper aims to introduce the concept of business paradigm to conceptualize and explain differences in business interaction patterns in the IMP research. Design/methodology/approach: The concept of the interaction and the concepts related to and driven from it describe the business at both a general level. At the same time, the IMP points out the uniqueness of business interactions. This paper addresses the specific lies between the general and the particular by referring to various patterns of interactions. To close that gap, this paper implies the Kuhnian philosophy of science to conceptualize the business paradigm. Findings: The business paradigm is a socially constructed collective term. It simultaneously captures the cognitive (what business is and what rules it has) and social (business community) dimensions of the actor's behavior and actions. It has two interdependent dimensions: cognitive and social. It determines how the actors view and do business, and it explains the variations of interactions. Research limitations/implications: Not applicable as it is a conceptual paper. Practical implications: Not applicable as it is a conceptual paper. Social implications: Not applicable as it is a conceptual paper. Originality/value: The concept of the business paradigm is a theoretical extension of the IMP actor's theory. The dimensions of the business paradigm capture the psychological and sociological characteristics of the business actor. The business paradigm application provides an opportunity to find that business can be different because actors in various communities have various views on what business is and how it should be properly run. Adding the business paradigm concept to the IMP theory implies strengthening the theory explanation power because the interaction explains the business's general characteristics. The business relationship explains the business's unique features, and the business paradigm explains the various interaction patterns. \textcopyright 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited