| Summary: | The focus of this study is to explore trust between small and medium
enterprises (SMEs) and large companies in interorganizational relationships
(IORs) that are mandated by government policy. Due to the important
contribution made by SMEs to national economies and to the fact that their
growth is pivotal for entrepreneurial activities, many governments have made
significant efforts to enhance their performance. However, SMEs are
constrained by their lack of resources and experience. Some countries have
required large companies to collaborate with SMEs to overcome these
constraints. Whilst much attention has been devoted to trust in relationships
of choice between SMEs and large companies, scant attention has been paid
to the state of trust in mandated business interactions. This study explores the
state of trust between large companies and SMEs companies in mandated
business interactions, identifying those factors that influence trust between
them. Qualitative semi-structured interviews with 25 key managers from large
companies and SMEs were conducted in Oman which has a policy of
mandated IORs. The interview data were analyzed thematically. The key
findings resulted in a new contextual concept of trust, a refinement of classical
trust indicators by which the presence of trust in IORs can be more
appropriately detected and the development of a model embracing factors
which were found to influence trust. Several new factors not previously
commented on in the literature were identified in this study. The findings
provide theoretical and practical contributions with recommendations for
policy, practice and further research. === Ministry of Manpower, Oman.
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