THE INFLUENCE OF TRUST ON COLLABORATIVE RELATIONSHIPS IN SUPPLY CHAINS

In this paper we theoretically discuss and empirically examine the infl uence of trust on collaborative behavior in supply chain relationships. These concepts are very important in today’s interorganizational business world, and therefore in supply chains. In theoretical part of this article we presume that establishment and development of relationships in supply chain depends on development of trust. Trust is defined as a willingness to rely on a partner in a supply chain in whom one has confidence. The stress is on expectation that another partner can be relied on to fulfill obligations and at the same time previous experience with partners in exchange relationships are taken in the consideration. Collaborative behavior is defined as a concept where two or more organizations, which work together in a supply chains, can through complementary characteristics gain shared means and goals that could not be achieved individually. Logistics managers, purchase and sales managers, project managers and employees in logistics department were included in our survey made on primary, secondary and tertiary sector of Slovene economy. We included companies of all sizes, both local and foreign companies present in Slovenia. 118 questionnaires were completed and involved in our research. According to the demographic data, our sample is comparable to population in terms of economy branch and size of companies. The Pearson correlation coefficient and linear regression analysis demonstrate statistically significant strong correlation between trust, shared values and communication and strong negative correlation between trust and opportunistic behavior. At the end we can confirm that there is a statistically significant infl uence of trust on collaborative behavior in supply chains. The results clearly indicate that all factors included in research are very important for today’s supply chain management.