Trust and respect in entrepreneurial information seeking behaviours

Abstract

Trust has been a vital research topic in entrepreneurship research. Many researchers argue that trust gives the entrepreneurs legitimacy within the market, and it is considered as a factor for information behaviours. Meanwhile, respect is also mentioned as a fundamental for trust and a necessity for building entrepreneurial networks. Despite their significance and relevance, there is still a limited study focusing on the role of trust and respect in entrepreneurs’ information-seeking behaviour research. This paper, therefore, draws attention to this gap and strives to investigate how these two concepts impact entrepreneurs’ information-seeking behaviour. The results show that trust and respect are two fundamental aspects that influence entrepreneurs’ preference for information source selection. Furthermore, the findings show that both trust and respect act as a predominant factor for entrepreneurs to build and advance their relationships. Theoretical and practical implications and recommendations for future studies are discussed.