Trust and Opportunistic Behavior across Cultures in Tourism Industry: A Comparative Study of Norway and Pakistan

Abstract

This article studied trust and opportunistic behavior in inter-organizational exchange relationships between tour operators and local services suppliers at a tourism destination in the comparative empirical contexts of Northern Norway and Gilgit Baltistan Pakistan. The collection of data from two contrasting cultures defines the primary significance of this study - considering Hofstede (1980) in general, and Morgan & Hunt (1994) specific to exchange relationships. Under qualitative research design, 63 semi-structured interviews from the respondents comprising of tour operators, local service suppliers, and representatives of tourism destination organizations were conducted in two major geographical contexts. The study found that to a larger extent, the level of trust and degree of opportunistic behavior in inter-organizational exchange relationships between tour operators and local services suppliers are influenced by the type of trust the exchange partners have. Exchange relationships having ‘competence’ trust were associated with a relatively higher level of trust and low degree of opportunistic behavior (inferred as strong exchange relationship) than exchange relationships embedded with ‘personal’ trust. Irrespective of culture, the strength of exchange relationships determines its contribution to the economic sustainability of communities at a tourism destination. This also has implications for social and environmental sustainability.