Getting Personal: the issues of trust and distrust in small and medium-sized enterprises in Nigeria

Abstract

There is a pronounced paucity of empirically rigorous study that focuses on the impact of trust on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in a developing market context. This article offers a fresh perspective on the simultaneous relationship between trust and distrust by exploring the complex process through which they are developed. Constructed in the assumptions of multidimensionality and the inherent tensions of relationships, the design of this study is interpretive, following an emergent iterative process, where three distinct types of trust, cognitive-based trust, affect-based trust and calculus-based trust were considered as critical components for successful SME relationships. Conversely, the unpredictable negative behavior of a trade partner was critical to the development of calculus-based distrust and identification-based distrust. The results facilitate a better understanding of the distinct types of trust and distrust that underpin SME relationships in Nigeria and other developing economies, particularly in Africa. This article contributes to the ongoing debate over the two contrary yet complementary opposites of trust and distrust, and their ability to provide explanations to economic activity.

RÉSUMÉ

Il existe une forte pénurie de recherches empiriques rigoureuses qui se concentrent sur l’impact de la confiance sur les petites et moyennes entreprises (PME) opérant dans un contexte de marché en développement. Cet article offre une nouvelle perspective sur la relation simultanée entre la confiance et la méfiance en explorant le processus complexe par lequel elles se développent. Construit sur les hypothèses de la multi-dimensionnalité et des tensions inhérentes aux relations, le concept de cette étude est interprétatif, suivant un processus itératif émergent, dans lequel trois types distincts de confiance – la confiance basée sur la cognition, la confiance basée sur l’affect et la confiance basée sur le calcul – ont été considérés comme des composantes essentielles des relations réussies pour les PME. À l’inverse, le comportement négatif imprévisible d’un partenaire commercial s’est révélé comme essentiel au développement d’une méfiance fondée sur le calcul et d’une méfiance fondée sur l’identification. Les résultats facilitent une meilleure compréhension des types distincts de confiance et de méfiance qui sous-tendent les relations des PME au Nigeria et dans d’autres économies en développement, notamment en Afrique. Cet article contribue au débat en cours sur les deux contraires, pourtant complémentaires, que sont la confiance et la méfiance, et sur leur capacité à fournir des explications à l’activité économique.

Keywords:

• Trust
• distrust
• trustworthiness
• social networks
• SMEs
• Nigeria

Mots-clés:

• confiance
• méfiance
• fiabilité
• réseaux sociaux
• PME
• Nigeria

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Kingsley Obi Omeihe

Kingsley Obi Omeihe is an Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Edinburgh Napier University. His research focuses on the role of networks and norms in the emergence of economic institutions and organizations. He is the Chair of African Studies at the British Academy of Management.

Isaac Oduro Amoako

Isaac Oduro Amoako is an Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship at Coventry University. His research focuses on trust, networks and the development of relationships. He is the author of Trust, Institutions and Managing Entrepreneurial Relationships in Africa (2019).

Veronika Gustafsson

Veronika Gustafsson is a Senior Lecturer at the University of the West of Scotland. Her home turf in entrepreneurship research is entrepreneurial cognition. She specializes in the cross-fertilization between cognitive psychology, entrepreneurship theory and empirical research in entrepreneurial context.

Mohammad Saud Khan

Mohammad Saud Khan is a Senior Lecturer at Victoria University of Wellington. His research work has largely been focused on investigating entrepreneurial teams within high-tech business incubators. His work has been presented and published at renowned international conferences and management journals.

Ibiyemi Omeihe

Ibiyemi Omeihe is a doctoral candidate at the University of the West of Scotland (UWS). Her research interests include leadership, entrepreneurship and inter-organizational trust. She finished as the valedictorian of the UWS MBA 2019 cohort, achieving a distinction and winning the overall court medal.