The determinants of customer trust in buyer–seller relationships: An empirical investigation in rural India

This paper conceptualised a model of customer trust in buyer–seller relationships in rural India by integrating variables studied in developed counties with the emphasis of social aspects of market exchange by including generalised trust sources. We have applied Fishbein’s model of behavioural intention and Fafchamps’s (2002) trust theory in developing countries and proposed that the customer trust is not only based on often-studied personalised trust sources only but also through generalised trust sources. In the model, we have included normative and informational social influences as generalised trust sources and product quality, service quality and customer dependence as personalised trust sources. We empirically validated our model with the survey data collected from farmers who buy chemical fertilisers from rural traders in India. We found that the generalised trust sources significantly impact customer trust for traders. Furthermore, we also found that the personalised trust sources impact customer trust for traders in a different way in rural India.

► Susceptibility to normative influence and informational influence impacted customer trust. ► Offer quality was found to be the strongest driver of customer trust. ► Customer dependence was found to positively impact customer trust.