A Multilevel Approach to Trust in Joint Ventures

This article examines issues of level in the study of joint venture trust. In particular, we explain how international joint venture (IJV) trust can be conceptualized and measured at the person, group, and firm levels. To do this, we (1) provide a definition of IJV trust applicable to persons, groups, and firms, (2) promote alignment of levels of theory and measurement through the use of a 3×3 approach to guide researchers in identifying the level at which they are theorizing and the proper level of measurement, and (3) propose operational measures of IJV trust across levels and dimensions in order to lay a solid foundation for theory testing.