Trust in buyer seller relationships

This research explores trust in relationships between buyers and sellers.  Previous research has shown that trust in others is a basis for decisions, commitments, risks, and leadership.  Surprisingly in the area of buyer seller relationships the previous research has been inconclusive in experimental studies, with some studies showing a marginal effect of trust, and other studies showing no effect of trust.  This current research will explore potential confounding variables observed in the previous research which may have led to incongruity across studies.  These variables will then be used as the basis for three stages of experimental studies to determine their effect on trust in buyer seller relationships.  This research will answer the questions of: (1) Why has there been disunity across previous studies measuring trust effects in buyer seller relationships? (2) If disunity across previous studies is due to confounding variables what are those variables? (3) What effect do these variables have on trust in buyer seller relationships?  Research into these questions will be conducted under the guidance of Dr. Jeroen Stouten, and will be conducted in industry as well as in controlled laboratory settings.