A Structural Equation Modeling of Antecedents and Outcomes of Trust Between Non-profit Organizations and Enterprises

Abstract

Trust is widely accepted as an important determinant of cooperative performance in strategic alliance, whereas few studies have been conducted in cross-sector partnerships. In this study, a conceptual model was constructed to explore the antecedents and outcomes of trust between non-profit organizations and enterprises. In the conceptual model, partner reputation and prior cooperative experience were selected as antecedents. Based on the questionnaires, the conceptual model was empirically tested via structural equation modeling using LISREL 8.80 software package. The empirical results reveal that partner reputation and prior cooperative experience have significant positive impacts on trust, and rust has significant positive impact on cooperative performance. The results can be used to guide the cooperative practices between non-profit organizations and enterprises. Limitations as well as research directions were also discussed.