Logistics outsourcing relationships: An examination of interorganizational trust over the life of the relationship

The role of trust over the evolution of business-to-business service relationships is of significance to the fields of logistics and marketing. However, the dynamic nature of trust in these types of relationships has not been subjected to rigorous scientific examination in the literature. This dissertation attempts to fill this void by examining the role of trust between users and providers of logistics outsourcing services at different phases of their relationship.; This dissertation develops and empirically tests a theoretical framework that examines the determinants and consequences of business-to-business trust within logistics outsourcing relationships. The theoretical framework integrates previous research findings examining the concept of trust from marketing, logistics, management, and psychology literature. In particular, the dissertation examines the dynamic nature of trust across major transitional phases encountered during these relationships.; A survey instrument is developed, pretested, and administered to collect information from users of logistics outsourcing services. The survey collects data concerning the formation, maintenance, and importance of trust between users and providers of third-party logistics services. The theoretical model was analyzed using structural equation modeling.; The results support several of the hypothesized relationships between the determinants and consequences of trust. The results also support the decomposition of trust into three distinct dimensions. Finally, the study suggests that phase in the relationship effects influence the relationships between several of the study's constructs. In particular, trust, satisfaction, and loyalty are impacted substantially.; Contributions of this research to marketing include a deepened understanding of the process of trust formation and maintenance within a business-to-business setting, an examination of the multidimensionality of the trust construct and an evaluation of the possible moderating effects of relationship stage on the determinants of trust. Contributions to logistics include the integration of relationship marketing concepts into the study of a growing segment of the logistics industry. In addition, this research should provide guidelines for organizations involved in these types of relationships to influence trust formation within their relationships.