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Relational trust and new ventures’ performance: the moderating impact of national-level institutional weakness

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Abstract

This study investigates the link between relational trust in exchange partners and new venture performance, and determines whether weakness in national-level formal institutions influences this link. Based on a sample of 203 entrepreneurs and their new ventures from Germany and China, findings reinforce the idea that new venture performance may profit from relational trust in exchange partners. However, interaction analyses also reveal that the performance implications of relational trust are contingent on the institutional context. The contributions and implications of these findings are discussed.

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    Authors and Affiliations

    1. Leibniz University Hanover, Königsworther Platz 1, 30167, Hanover, Germany

      Boris Bauke

    2. University of Cologne, Albertus-Magnus-Platz, 50923, Köln, Germany

      Thorsten Semrau

    3. Sino-German School of Postgraduate Studies (CDHK), Tongji University, Chifeng Road 50, 200092, Shanghai, China

      Zheng Han

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    1. Boris Bauke
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    Correspondence to Boris Bauke or Zheng Han.

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    Boris Bauke and Thorsten Semrau contributed equally to this work.

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    Bauke, B., Semrau, T. & Han, Z. Relational trust and new ventures’ performance: the moderating impact of national-level institutional weakness. Int Entrep Manag J 12, 1007–1024 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11365-015-0374-3

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