Antecedents and outcomes of infidelity in exporter-importer business relationships

The volatile, complex, and distant nature of the international business environment inevitably gives rise to incidences of infidelity among interacting exporters and importers. We propose a theoretically anchored model of the... [ view full abstract ]

The volatile, complex, and distant nature of the international business environment inevitably gives rise to incidences of infidelity among interacting exporters and importers. We propose a theoretically anchored model of the antecedents and outcomes of infidelity in exporter-importer (E-I) working relationships, which is tested based on input provided by 262 export manufacturers from Greece. Our findings confirm that infidelity incidences are higher in those cases where trust, satisfaction, commitment, and cooperation are low in the relationship. In fact, this negative link between infidelity and each of these four relationship quality parameters becomes stronger with the exercise of coercive rather than non-coercive power. The existence of infidelity in the relationship will lead to either punitive actions or reassessment measures, which are moderated by the degree of long-term orientation and social bonding that exists between the interacting parties. The findings offer useful implications for both managers and academics.