Culture and trust in contractual relationships: a French-Lebanese cooperation

This chapter explores how national cultural differences between partners involved in a contractual relationship may interfere with the development of trust. This is illustrated through a case study of a management contract signed by a French private company (Promostate) and public Lebanese company (SONAT). Using an ethnographic approach and drawing on a qualitative analysis of field interviews, the author argues that the challenges faced by the French and Lebanese parties in developing a trusting relationship are due to classic issues of personal conflicts, differing organizational cultures and power asymmetries. But, due to different national cultural background, different conceptions of what “good cooperation” should be shaped different expectations of trustworthy behavior and hindered the process of resolving the encountered difficulties.