Trust as the antidote to Brexit and COVID-19: explaining how Danish SMEs’ confidence in the future of their British partnerships associates with trust

Poul Erik Flyvholm Jørgensen*, N. Leila Trapp, Gert Tinggaard Svendsen, Line Skov Nielsen

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaperJournal articleResearchpeer-review

Abstract

Trust is key to successful trading relationships and is believed to be essential in maintaining confidence in their future, particularly if exposed to game-changing events. Thus, this study examines how 193 Danish small and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs) trust levels and their perceptions of how this trust is composed correlate with their confidence in the future of trading with their British business partners in the context of Brexit and COVID-19 towards the end of the so-called “transition period”. The survey shows that when Danish CEOs have high levels of trust in their business partner, they also have strong confidence that a valued business relationship will survive exposure to disruptive exogenous events. The survey also shows that the trust dimensions recognised as either expertness, truthfulness, or attentiveness in a business partner are almost equally valued and correlate equally with the respondents' confidence in the future.

Original languageEnglish
JournalInternational Journal of Globalisation and Small Business
Volume14
Issue1
Pages (from-to)62-85
Number of pages24
ISSN1479-3059
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2024

Keywords

  • Brexit
  • confidence
  • COVID-19
  • credibility
  • inter-organisational trust
  • relationship maintenance
  • small and medium-sized enterprises
  • SMEs
  • uncertainty

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