Takenouchi Hideyuki

Purpose - To develop and test a new model of relational exchange in marketing-oriented non-equity international strategic alliances. Design/methodology/approach - The model is tested using a sample of 97 matched dyads of US and Japanese firms in the electronics industry. The model was tested using three stage least squares. Findings - The data generally support the proposed model for both nations/cultures. The results suggest that the benevolence dimension of trust is a more important determinant of managerially assessed alliance marketing performance for the Japanese firms relative to their US partners. Research limitations/implications - While strong inferences are inhibited by the nature of our data set, our research implies that cultural sensitivity is an important determinant of the credibility and benevolence dimensions of trust and quality information exchange. Also, exchanging quality information is a strong mediator of the trust-performance relationship. Practical implications - International marketing managers should be focused on the process of developing high levels of alliance marketing performance. Our results suggest that this performance can be linked, at least in part, to the exchange of relevant, timely, important information. Information exchange in turn depends on the development of trust and cultural sensitivity in the relationship. Originality/value - This paper integrates the cultural sensitivity construct into a relational exchange model of international alliances, demonstrating the importance of being open to, and understanding of, culturally driven operational differences. The important behavioral construct we call quality information exchange is a mediator in the relational exchange model, an improvement over models that include only relational constructs such as trust and commitment.

This study investigated the formation and outcomes of trust between partners in a specific form of strategic alliance not often studied, the non-equity-based international cooperative alliance (ICA). Because a component of the investigation involved the reciprocal effects of trust in the ICA relationship, dyadic data were gathered from Japanese and U.S. partners in 101 ICAs based in Japan, Results showed that partner cultural sensitivity is an important contributor to trust building for both sides of the dyad, Complementarity with partner contributed to trust for the U.S. but not for the Japanese, Similarity between ICA partners led to trust for the Japanese but not the U.S. partner, The results also showed strong reciprocal effects of trust in the relationship, and that trust of the ICA partner leads the individual firm to integrate the ICA into its own strategic framework.