Trust and relational capital in international alliances: an empirical evidence from Portuguese industry

International alliances (IAs) are popular yet complicated collaboration strategy as it involves cross-border partnership. Successfully managing such alliances has been remained debatable for long. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the antecedents and determinants of trust and relational capital in the success of IAs. The analysis of survey data drawn from 232 Portuguese firms engaged in international business activities suggests that the performance of IAs is dependent on socially embedded mechanisms of mutual trust and relational capital that facilitate the cross-border collaboration. This means that trust and relational capital are accumulated after years of experience with partners and can be considered as assets. Moreover, we found that when shared values are aligned and embedded in social exchange approach and an increased reciprocity of information between partners exists, it leads to bridge distance and foster trust. While perception of the risk encapsulated in a particular relationship has a negative effect over trust, explaining that perceived relational risk is an important ingredient in the evaluation of the quality of a relationship. These findings have important theoretical and managerial implications in the context of cross-border alliances.