Relationship learning from organizational knowledge stores

This study examines the effect of relationship learning between customers and suppliers on relational knowledge stores and the moderating role of dyadic trust. The results reveal that relationship-learning activities between customers and suppliers are positive in managing customers' relational knowledge stores, comprising those of interactive, functional, environmental, and interpersonal knowledge. Trust has no moderating effect on the relationship between relationship learning and environmental knowledge stores; while, in contrast, greater levels of trust will advance relationship learning at an escalating rate and trust accordingly plays a moderating role on the other three knowledge stores. The positive effects of relationship learning on interactive, functional, and interpersonal knowledge stores escalate when the level of trust is medium; the effects decreases under conditions of high or low trust. This study confirms the positive relationship between relationship learning and relational knowledge stores and further reveals the threshold effect of trust.