The concept of trust is frequently used in business, but its meaning is not always clear or easy to define. In fact, the meaning of trust varies from person to person, which can present significant challenges for businesses built upon trust-based relationships with stakeholders such as customers, suppliers, and partners. To better understand trust, we have reviewed relevant scholarly articles in this field, and the following paragraphs aim to explore this complex topic in greater depth.

Blois (1999) revealed that there is a general lack of clarity in the conceptualisation of trust in a number of influential studies. In relation to relationship marketing in the business-to-business (B2B) space, Blois (1999) drew from academic journals to provide the following definitions of trust:

• Trust is defined as an attitude displayed in situations where a person relies on another person, risks something of value, or attempts to achieve a desired goal (Bialaszewski & Giallourakis, cited in Blois, 1999, pp. 197-198).
• Trust has been defined as the belief that a party's word or promise is reliable, and that a party will fulfill their obligations in an exchange relationship (Schurr & Ozanne, cited in Blois, 1999, p. 198).
• Mutual trust is the degree to which a channel member perceives that their relationship with a supplier is based on mutual trust, and thus is willing to accept short-term dislocation because they are confident that such dislocation will balance out in the long run (Anderson et al., cited in Blois, 1999, p. 198).
• Trust is defined as one party's belief that their needs will be fulfilled in the future by actions undertaken by another party (Anderson & Weitz, cited in Blois, 1999, p. 198).
• Trust is the firm's belief that another company will perform actions that will result in positive outcomes for the firm, as well as not take unexpected actions that would result in negative outcomes for the firm (Anderson & Narus, cited in Blois, 1999, p. 198).
• Trust is defined as a willingness to rely on an exchange partner in whom one has confidence (Moorman et al., Schurr & Ozanne, Ganesan, cited in Blois, 1999, p. 198).
• Trust exists when one party has confidence in an exchange partner's reliability and integrity (Morgan & Hunt, cited in Blois, 1999, p. 198).
• Trust is the perceived credibility and benevolence of a target of trust (Doney & Cannon, cited in Blois, 1999, p. 198).

Although the definitions above demonstrate consistency in the use of words such as reliability, confidence, integrity, and credibility as the foundation for defining trust in a business context, there is a need for greater clarity on how trust can be achieved, as well as how it can be measured or quantified in the business environment.

Blois (1999) concludes that the reviewed marketing studies fail to take into account the following five issues:

• Trust and reliance – Highlights that trust and reliance, whilst often used interchangeably, are not actually the same. Blois (1999) argues that, ‘t.
• Blanket trust – is seldom applied to another party for two reasons. Firstly, we might trust an individual in particular areas of their behaviour, but not in other areas. Secondly, where there is no experience on which to make a judgement, there may be no view of trustworthiness in that area of behaviour.
• Reciprocity – is often implied in some trust definitions. However, there is no reason why this would need to be the case. If one individual trusts another, it does not necessarily follow the other way around.
• Trust and trustworthiness – are often not distinguished in the literature, as Blois (1999) argues, ‘even though it is primarily about trustworthiness, and not about trust’. Trustworthiness relates to a person’s disposition towards honesty. Trusting a person requires us to know of their disposition as well as the circumstances around the task at hand.
• Can organisations trust? – Much of what has been written about trust relates at the level of the individual. Some authors have identified the need to extend the model of trust to the group or organisational level (Schoorman, Mayer, & Davis, 1996). As trust may only be granted by individuals, organisational or interorganisational trust generally suggests that individuals from one entity trust those from another.

Although the review above suggests some general agreement in the definition of trust in the business context, it also underlines the necessity for more precision and understanding in this area.

It is essential for businesses to identify how they define and measure trust. Furthermore, they should ascertain whether their definition of trust aligns with that of their customers, suppliers, channel partners, and other significant stakeholders. Failure to answer these questions can have serious implications for a company's offering and brand.

REFERENCES

• Blois, K. J. (1999). Trust in business to business relationships: an evaluation of its status. Journal of Management Studies, 36(2), 197–215.
• Schoorman, D., Mayer, R. C., & Davis, J. H. (1996). Including versus excluding ability from the definition of trust. Academy of Management Review, 21(2), 339–340.