The Antecedents of Trust in Business-to-Business Financial Services

Purpose: To explore how satisfaction, communication, customization, competence, and shared values (as antecedents) influence trust in B2B financial services relationships, and to assist decision makers in this industry to manage long-term relationships with their clients.

Methodology/approach: Based on a literature review, five hypotheses were developed. The hypotheses were addressed by empirically evaluating a theoretical model based on data from both relationship managers and the clients of a leading South African B2B financial services provider. Regression analysis was used to assess the relationships in the relationship-manager sample, while structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to assess the relationships in the client sample.

Findings: In the relationship-manager sample, satisfaction, competence, and shared values were found to be significant predictors of trust. However, in the client sample, all five of the hypothesized antecedents were found to contribute significantly to trust.

Originality/value/contribution: The major contribution of this study, for both marketing academics and practitioners, lies in the simultaneous consideration of the perceptions of both financial services providers as well as their clients. As far as it could be ascertained, this combination of both exchange partners (service providers and clients) in a single study has not been reported in a financial services context.