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Trust in business alliances between mainstream and emerging companies in South Africa

This study explored perceived trust between mainstream and emerging business partner entities in South Africa. A purposive sample of 25 managers from mainstream companies (n = 7) and emerging companies (n = 18) participated in the study. The managers Q-sorted trust-related items with follow-up interviews. The Q-sort data were subjected to factor analysis to reveal clustered perceptions about trust in business partnerships. Interview data were thematically analysed to place the findings from the factor structure analysis into context. The results indicate both mainstream and emerging business partners shared six conceptions or ways of perceiving trust: sincerity-trust, values-trust, duped-trust, vigilance-trust, deceit-trust, and propensity to trust alliances. Integrity seemed to be more salient in the emerging companies. The sincerity-, values-, duped-, and vigilance-trust were manifestations of perceptions of partner integrity, revealing the centrality of honesty in defining trust in business partnerships.