The Influence of Culture on Trust Judgments in Customer Relationship Development by Ethnic Minority Small Businesses

Abstract

This paper explores the influence of culture on trust judgments in customer relationship development by ethnic minority small businesses (EMSBs). Chao and Moon's "cultural mosaic" of overlapping "cultural tiles" is used to develop a generic conceptual model regarding the relationships between multiple cultural identities, trust, and customer relationship development. Drawing on qualitative data from semistructured interviews with 134 Turkish EMSBs in London (United Kingdom), our findings contribute to the understanding of how different cultural tiles influence the dimensions of trust judgments in relationship development between EMSBs and different customer groups. Seven propositions and a theoretical framework regarding these relationships are offered for future research. © 2013 International Council for Small Business.