Importer relationship performance in Latin America: the role of trust and commitment

Firms from emerging markets are increasingly developing relationships with foreign suppliers, although international relationships are difficult to manage due to differences between countries. Relationship marketing research has focused mainly on the export marketing activities of firms and much less attention has been given to the import side of the exchange process. Furthermore, most research has been conducted in developed countries; therefore, more research is needed in emerging markets for a wider generalization of relationship marketing theory. Thus, the objective of this study is to empirically examine the antecedents of importer relationship performance in a Latin American context. A conceptual model that includes the antecedents and outcomes of trust and commitment was developed and tested. The data was collected from a survey of Chilean importers. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted to develop the construct measures and structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the model. The findings of this study contribute to a better understanding of the driving forces of trust and commitment and their influence on importing firms' performance in a Latin American developing country perspective