Emotions, culture intelligence, and mutual trust in technology business relationships

Both scholars and practitioners highlight the critical role of mutual trust in cross-border technology business relationships. Yet the alliance literature has overlooked the role of emotions and cultural intelligence in developing mutual trust. In a cross-sectional survey of 210 technology business relationships, we find that both a partner's expressing and evoking emotional states are positively associated with mutual trust. We also observe that while interaction with cultural intelligence strengthens the relationship of expressing emotional states with mutual trust, awareness of cultural intelligence weakens it. In addition, awareness of cultural intelligence positively moderates the link between evoking emotional states and mutual trust but negatively conditions the link between expressing emotional states and mutual trust. These findings highlight the importance of emotions as organizational capabilities that can help create an exchange environment characterized by open communication and confidence that partners will meet agreed-on obligations.