Title: Trust as the antidote to Brexit and COVID-19: explaining how Danish SMEs' confidence in the future of their British partnerships associates with trust

Authors: Poul Erik Flyvholm Jørgensen; N. Leila Trapp; Gert Tinggaard Svendsen; Line Skov Nielsen

Addresses: School of Communication and Culture, Aarhus University, Jens Chr. Skous Vej 4, Building 1481, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark ' School of Communication and Culture, Aarhus University, Jens Chr. Skous Vej 4, Building 1481, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark ' Department of Political Science, Aarhus University, Bartholins Allé 7, Building 1341, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark ' Department of Political Science, Aarhus University, Bartholins Allé 7, Building 1341, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark

Abstract: Trust is key to successful trading relationships and is believed to be essential in maintaining confidence in their future, particularly if exposed to game-changing events. Thus, this study examines how 193 Danish small and medium-sized enterprises' (SMEs) trust levels and their perceptions of how this trust is composed correlate with their confidence in the future of trading with their British business partners in the context of Brexit and COVID-19 towards the end of the so-called "transition period". The survey shows that when Danish CEOs have high levels of trust in their business partner, they also have strong confidence that a valued business relationship will survive exposure to disruptive exogenous events. The survey also shows that the trust dimensions recognised as either expertness, truthfulness, or attentiveness in a business partner are almost equally valued and correlate equally with the respondents' confidence in the future.

Keywords: inter-organisational trust; confidence; uncertainty; credibility; SMEs; small and medium-sized enterprises; relationship maintenance; Brexit; COVID-19.

DOI: 10.1504/IJGSB.2024.138680

International Journal of Globalisation and Small Business, 2024 Vol.14 No.1, pp.62 - 85

Received: 04 Apr 2023
Accepted: 22 Mar 2024
Published online: 23 May 2024 *

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