Antecedents of trust in corporate bankingin the United Arab Emirates

How does an understanding of the antecedents of trust and trust building contribute to our knowledge of relationships in the corporate banking sector in the United Arab Emirates? How is trust operationalised? This thesis has 1) identified the interaction between bankers and their clients; 2) empirically studied both sides of this dyad; 3) investigated the extent to which the antecedents of trust are contextually dependent; and 4) drawn out the implications for relationship managers.

This work fills a gap in the financial services marketing literature: it provides an understanding of the antecedents of trust and insights into corporate banking in an Arab/Muslim context. It has implications for other Gulf States and Arab cultures, and finds a significant relationship between emotions and trust.

The literature on trust is vast; many surveys analyse the meanings of trust and provide typologies. Nevertheless, there is a paucity of research on the antecedents of trust. This work devises a typology of trust, classified into six antecedents: competence, reliability, integrity, benevolence, openness of communication and “antecedent” satisfaction – all with particular reference to Emirati religion, culture and shared values.

Thematic qualitative analysis was deployed here through the use of semi-structured interviews with 170 respondents. Key informants in the Central Bank of Abu Dhabi and in a multi-national oil company provided triangulation.

The antecedents of trust in the banking sector in an Arab/Muslim context fall into three clusters: “Cognitive”, “Affective” and “Religion, culture and shared values”. All were investigated in an Arab/Muslim context. It is shown here that the antecedents of trust for Emiratis are controlled by the key mediating variables of religion, culture and shared values. For non-Emiratis, antecedents of trust are predominantly cognitive, focusing on knowledge, skills and profit. This research reveals that additional antecedents of trust, beyond those in the literature, influence the building of trust.