Trust Building in a Technology Partnership

Trust is one of the most important criteria for successful partnerships. Thus, trust creation is one of the most important meta-skills that a person or a company can possess in a turbulent business environment. The recognition and support for trust building demands further clarification and operationalization of the concept. In the following, we summarize the core elements of trust and their descriptions:

Capability as a Necessary Antecedent for Trust

In the context of technology partnership formation, capability consists of technological capability, business capability and the meta-capability to cooperate. Capability is a necessary but passive component for trust in technology partnership formation.

Goodwill Implies Positive Intention

Goodwill implies a more abstract, but a very important, component of trust in technology partnerships. It has been defined as the "partner's moral responsibility and positive intentions toward the other" (Blomqvist, 1997). Also Tyler (1996, 2001) and Sako (1998) have highlighted the trustee's intentions as a source of experienced trustworthiness. Experienced goodwill is a necessary and active component for trust in technology partnership formation.

Behavioral Dimension Fulfills the Intentions

Along time, when the relationship is developing, the actual behavior, e.g., that the trustee fulfills the positive intentions, enhances trustworthiness (Bidault, 2000; Lazarec & Lorenz, 1998b). The capability and goodwill dimensions of trust become visible in the behavioral signals of trustworthiness.

Self-Reference as a Foundation for Connection and Equal Cooperation

Self-reference means a system's capability of autonomy and dependency. Self-reference is demonstrated by the system's ability to define its own existence, the basic idea for being and doing, values, principles and goals, as well as the ability to form double contingent relationships and run a dialogue (St hle, 1998). Thus, the word "reference" in the concept self-reference means the system's ability to use others as a reference to self. At an individual level, this means that a person can make meaningful choices, he or she has a direction and behaves accordingly (with integrity). Through self-reference the system becomes aware of its identity and capabilities in relation to others.

In this chapter we have formed the basic components and definition of trust on the basis of literature and interviews of practitioners in partnerships. These sources brought up four main components of trust, which we will now reflect back to the literature with an attempt to also connect the issues with operative methods for building trust.

Means for Trust Building

The means for trust building have not been widely explored, yet they clearly have managerial implications. In this sub-chapter we will summarize the potential sources of trust and the operational signs and signals for trust creation (see also Blomqvist, 2002). Tables 2 to 5 present these ideas. The sources of trust are organized according to our conceptualization of trust: capability, self-reference, goodwill and behavior. They have been derived from previous research by the authors listed in the second column. In the third column the authors of this chapter give the potential operational signs and signals for the various components of trust as illustrative examples.

In Table 2 the signs and signals indicating the capability dimension of trust are given as examples.

Table 2: Capability

CAPABILITY:
TECHNOLOGICAL CAPABILITY, BUSINESS CAPABILITY AND THE META-CAPABILITY TO COOPERATE
Sources	Author	Signs & Signals
Technological capability	Sako, 1994, 1998	References of difficult projects
Business capability	O'Brien, 1995	Prizes for outstanding technology
Meta-capability to cooperate	Sanner, 1996 Mishra, 1996 Sydow, 1998 Miles et al., 2000	First-to-market technologies Third party screening (attracted partners) Symbols, e.g., education, memberships Realistic judgment, soundness of vision Professionalism Clear strategy and a business plan Partner strategy Partner program and partner managers Partnering mindset instead of NIH Internal information on status and purpose of partnership
Reputation	Zucker, 1986 Granovetter, 1992 Larson, 1992 Barney & Hansen, 1994 Hovi, 1995 Creed & Miles, 1996 Teece, 1997 Sydow, 1987	References Well-known partners, board members, etc. Trusted third party introduction Reputation as a competent actor Reputation of management within the corporation: incentives and punishment

In Table 3 the self-reference component of trust is elaborated and the relevant authors, as well as the signals and signs enhancing trust, are given.

Table 3: Self-Reference

SELF-REFERENCE:
CLARITY OF THE INDIVIDUAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL IDENTITY
Sources	Author	Signs & Signals
Double contingency, i.e., ability to connect to other actors in the system and accept the mutual interdependency	Luhmann, 1995 Sydow, 1998 St hle, 1998 Das & Teng, 1998	Negotiation style (win-win) Choice of boundary-spanners (with experience/ understanding from both worlds) Project champions, interdependence at project level Self-confidence and corporate identity Equity as a sense of fairness (input/output)
Equity		Contracts
Ability to understand difference and appreciate complementarity	Luhmann, 1979, 1995 St hle, 1998	Internal analysis of own competencies and evaluation of needed complementarity Positive attitude to cooperation
Receptiveness of organizational culture	Dodgson, 1993 Sydow, 1998
Security and stability	Erikson, 1950	Consistency of values and behavior
Integrity	Creed & Miles, 1996 Sydow, 1998	Consistency of boundary-spanners and organization, organizational social control and sanctions

Table 4 illustrates the goodwill component of trust. Several authors refer to various antecedents for this component of trust.

Table 4: Goodwill

GOODWILL:
MORAL RESPONSIBILITY AND POSITIVE INTENTIONS TOWARD THE OTHER
Sources	Author	Signs & Signals
Reliability	Mishra, 1996	Norms, such as keeping promises
Care and concern	O'Brien, 1995 Mishra, 1996 von Krogh, 2000	Consideration for mutual needs Proactive information, interest and advice Social support
Reciprocity	Creed & Miles, 1996	Expressed values and norms for reciprocity
Shared values	Jones & George, 1998	Declaration of values, rules of the game
Acceptable code of behavior	Sako, 1998 Fukyama, 1995 Doz & Hamel, 1998	Workshops and training Charismatic leadership as an example Screening suitable individuals for boundary-spanners
Social similarity	Zucker, 1986	Choice of boundary-spanners
Personal chemistry	Creed & Miles, 1996 Ladeg rd, 1997	Training staff to understand diversity Informal meetings to increase mutual understanding and socialization
Homophility of organizations	Oliver, 1997	Similar status
Same social sub-system	Sydow, 1998	Socialization, personal interaction, blending cultures, shared norms and symbols
Socialization and creating shared meanings	Zucker, 1986 Nonaka, 1996 Tyler & Kramer, 1996 Oliver, 1997	Shared goals and visions Rituals and symbols Professional norms, shared rhetoric Career and clients
Common identification	Hardy et al., 1998 Fukyama, 1995	Informal meetings, inter-firm visits Training and education, workshops Group identity: kick-offs, celebrations Commonality in name, co-location Creation of joint products and goals Social support and recognition
Management philosophy	Barney, 1991, 1996	Values and norms
Organizational culture	Barney & Hansen, 1994 O'Brien, 1995 Creed & Miles, 1996 Whitener et al., 1998 Sydow, 1998 Nonaka & Konno, 1998 Von Krogh, 2000	Creation of environment for trust Consistency in partner management Behavioral integrity Leadership style e.g. delegation, rewards Mutual mental and physical place
Goals and visions	Das & Teng, 1998 Sydow, 1998	Convergence of goals and shared vision Joint goal setting process and clear communication of goals
Organizational structure	Creed & Miles, 1996	Clear organizational roles Possibility to identify decision-makers and key persons (visibility)

Actual behavior is a crucial component of trust. In Table 5 the authors explain some sources for the behavioral component of trust.

Table 5: Behavior

BEHAVIOR: INTERACTION AND EXPERIENCE
Sources	Author	Signs & Signals
Information	O'Brien, 1995 Swan, 1985 Mishra, 1996 Das & Teng, 1998	Sharing sensitive information Sharing future plans related to partner Open and prompt information (opinions) Both positive and negative aspects revealed
Communication	Luhmann, 1979	Proactive, open and prompt communication
Common base of knowledge	Zucker, 1986	Clearness and frequency of communication
Shared meanings	Hardy et al., 1998 Sako, 1994 O'Brien, 1995 Mishra, 1996 Das & Teng, 1998	Taking care of internal communication Organizational practices and processes to ensure regular communication
Multiplexity of communication		Support, advice and emotions included
	Sydow, 1998
Personal experience	Creed & Miles, 1996	Face-to-face meetings
		Company visits, product testing
	Blomqvist, 1999	Experience of the other company's context
Learning and understanding	Whitener et al., 1998 Jones & George, 1998	Choice of boundary-spanners Continuous interaction Inter-firm workshops Informal social events
Interfirm adaptation	Das & Teng, 1998	Transfer of key personnel Wide organizational interface
Commitment	Das & Teng, 1998	Attention, expertise and funds
Open commitment	Sako, 1998 Barney & Hansen, 1994	Unilateral investments Incremental investments
Shadow-of-the future	Axelrod, 1984 Sydow, 1998	Credible commitments Expectations for future business

The potential means for creating trusting conditions and building trust presented in Tables 2 to 5 are expected to also give useful advice for practicing managers.