Antecedents and Consequences of Business Trust in Retailing and Wholesaling in Tanzania

Abstract

The objective of the study was to explore antecedents and consequences of trust between suppliers and retailers in Tanzania. Cases were studied in detail to understand suppliers and retailers relationships. The study shows various sources of trust in retailing and wholesaling to include: paying promptly, paying as agreed, having a guarantor (prominent business person, a politician, ward office, clergy, a known customer), group protection, growing business, long-term buyer from the same supplier, regular customer, and background (knowing parents, brother, sister, schoolmates or, college or friends. There was also an indication of trust by virtue of race or ethnicity or sharing same geographical background, duration of time in business, growing business, increasing purchases, operating at a known location, guarantee from a credible business person, marital status, sex (women were considered more trustworthy), age of the person (where older age was considered to have more wisdom, experience and could not run away). There was conditional trust for who proved not worthy, whose factors were openness and transparency, similarity in values, similarity in ethics, quality products, client focus, and progress made in business that differentiated the traders. The results have implications to management policy and practices. It is recommended that customers should be studied so as establish trust factors that are more important for establishing relationship with increased business and growth.