Economics & Finance / Business & Management / Organizational Behavior & Management

Why Japanese Carmakers Build Trust Faster Than American or Korean Ones (Study)

Jeffrey H. Dyer, Wujin Chu

Think trust in business is built through friendships or long relationships? Think again. A landmark study of 453 supplier-automaker relationships across the USA, Japan, and South Korea reveals a shocking truth: the process-based approach—stable policies, regular assistance, and fair re-bidding—matters far more than personal ties or stock ownership. Japanese automakers, even in their US factories, consistently earn higher trust from suppliers than their American counterparts, all through systematic, non-personal routines. This video breaks down the three competing theories—embeddedness, process, and economic hostage—and shows which one actually works across cultures. Discover why relationship length fails in the US, why face-to-face meetings can backfire, and how Toyota’s free assistance program instantly triggers trust. Based on the research by Jeffrey H. Dyer and Wujin Chu, published in the Journal of International Business Studies. Watch to learn how to intentionally build trust in any business relationship, without relying on luck or culture.