Trust of potential buyers in new entrepreneurial ventures

Viac o knihe

Customer loyalty is crucial for the success of established businesses, with higher loyalty levels correlating to greater company achievement. Consequently, Relationship Marketing tools and the role of trust are increasingly significant. This holds true for young enterprises as well, as evidenced by Brinkmann's findings that customer loyalty can drive success in early company stages. However, the role of trust in this context remains underexplored. While there is a general consensus on the importance of trust for New Entrepreneurial Ventures, clarity on a suitable trust concept is lacking. Welter and Smallbone (2006) emphasize the need for greater conceptual clarity regarding the various forms of trust and their interrelationships. Although several studies discuss theoretical models of trust, there is a notable absence of broad empirical validation for these models. Understanding which individual factors empirically influence trust or trust development models is essential for providing actionable insights for companies across different industries and stages. This dissertation by Gunnar Wiedenfels aims to address this gap, exploring the empirical factors that shape trust in business contexts.