The population of firms for this study was identified
from the Hong Kong Directory (Hong Kong Trade
Development Council 2006). This directory comprises
100,000 companies, of which 44,896 are actively
engaged in import. Of these importers, we randomly
selected a sample of 500 firms that were purchasing
goods from Western manufacturers. The nature of the
importing activities of these firms was diverse, ranging
from electronics and digital entertainment products to
garments and textiles. Each firm was precontacted by
phone to assess its eligibility for inclusion, identify
appropriate key informants, and secure participation in
the study. The key informant was a person within the
importing firm whose main responsibility was dealing
with people in the Western exporting organization.10
The outcome of this process was that 267 firms (i.e.,
53.4%) agreed to take part in the survey. Some of the
reasons cited for nonparticipation were lack of available
time, absence of the key informant from the office, and
ceasing of business operations.
Fieldwork Procedures
Respondents had the option of answering either a Chinese
or an English version of the questionnaire. Following
three waves of reminders, 208 questionnaires (an
overall 41.6% response rate) were eventually collected
over a six-month period. We removed 6 questionnaires
due to incomplete or missing data, leaving 202 retained
for the analysis. To control for the existence of nonresponse
bias, we followed Mentzer and Flint’s (1997) recommendations:
we randomly identified nine items pertaining
to each of the key constructs contained in the
questionnaire, and we telephoned a group of 30 randomly
selected nonrespondents to provide answers to
each of these items. We then compared their responses
with those gathered from actual respondents using a ttest;
they revealed no statistically significant differences.
Scale Development
We identified appropriate scales for the focal constructs
after a careful review of the pertinent buyer-seller literature
(see the Appendix). However, the scales for the
three interpersonal constructs—sijiao, xinyong, and
ganging—were, to a great extent, self-developed in this
study because there was limited previous research examining
them.11 We measured interorganizational trust
with an eight-item scale adapted from Doney and Cannon
(1997). Cooperation comprised five items derived
from Leonidou, Palihawadana, and Theodosiou (2006).
We used a four-item scale developed by Gilliland and
Bello (2002) to measure commitment. We operationalized
the construct of satisfaction in line with six items
employed in Cannon and Perrault’s (1999) study. We
measured financial performance on a five-item scale
extracted from Lee, Yang, and Graham (2006).12 We
verified the face validity of our scales using the opinions
of three academic experts who had extensive experience
in the field. The scales were further refined on the basis
of insights gained from informal discussions with a
group of Hong Kong-based Chinese managers.
Research Instrument
The questionnaire had a structured format and consisted
of three sections. The first part included questions
relating to the background and history of the working
relationship. To eliminate potential selection bias pertaining
to the business relationship in question, each
respondent was asked to focus his or her response on
the fourth-most-significant relationship with a Western
exporting firm in terms of business volume (Anderson
32
The population of firms for this study was identifiedfrom the Hong Kong Directory (Hong Kong TradeDevelopment Council 2006). This directory comprises100,000 companies, of which 44,896 are activelyengaged in import. Of these importers, we randomlyselected a sample of 500 firms that were purchasinggoods from Western manufacturers. The nature of theimporting activities of these firms was diverse, rangingfrom electronics and digital entertainment products togarments and textiles. Each firm was precontacted byphone to assess its eligibility for inclusion, identifyappropriate key informants, and secure participation inthe study. The key informant was a person within theimporting firm whose main responsibility was dealingwith people in the Western exporting organization.10The outcome of this process was that 267 firms (i.e.,53.4%) agreed to take part in the survey. Some of thereasons cited for nonparticipation were lack of availabletime, absence of the key informant from the office, andceasing of business operations.Fieldwork ProceduresRespondents had the option of answering either a Chineseor an English version of the questionnaire. Followingthree waves of reminders, 208 questionnaires (anoverall 41.6% response rate) were eventually collectedover a six-month period. We removed 6 questionnairesdue to incomplete or missing data, leaving 202 retainedfor the analysis. To control for the existence of nonresponsebias, we followed Mentzer and Flint’s (1997) recommendations:we randomly identified nine items pertainingto each of the key constructs contained in thequestionnaire, and we telephoned a group of 30 randomlyselected nonrespondents to provide answers toeach of these items. We then compared their responseswith those gathered from actual respondents using a ttest;they revealed no statistically significant differences.Scale DevelopmentWe identified appropriate scales for the focal constructsafter a careful review of the pertinent buyer-seller literature(see the Appendix). However, the scales for thethree interpersonal constructs—sijiao, xinyong, andganging—were, to a great extent, self-developed in thisstudy because there was limited previous research examiningthem.11 We measured interorganizational trustwith an eight-item scale adapted from Doney and Cannon(1997). Cooperation comprised five items derivedfrom Leonidou, Palihawadana, and Theodosiou (2006).We used a four-item scale developed by Gilliland andBello (2002) to measure commitment. We operationalizedthe construct of satisfaction in line with six itemsemployed in Cannon and Perrault’s (1999) study. Wemeasured financial performance on a five-item scaleextracted from Lee, Yang, and Graham (2006).12 Weverified the face validity of our scales using the opinionsof three academic experts who had extensive experiencein the field. The scales were further refined on the basisof insights gained from informal discussions with agroup of Hong Kong-based Chinese managers.Research InstrumentThe questionnaire had a structured format and consistedof three sections. The first part included questionsrelating to the background and history of the workingrelationship. To eliminate potential selection bias pertainingto the business relationship in question, eachrespondent was asked to focus his or her response onthe fourth-most-significant relationship with a Westernexporting firm in terms of business volume (Anderson32
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The population of firms for this study was identified
from the Hong Kong Directory (Hong Kong Trade
Development Council 2006). This directory comprises
100,000 companies, of which 44,896 are actively
engaged in import. Of these importers, we randomly
selected a sample of 500 firms that were purchasing
goods from Western manufacturers. The nature of the
importing activities of these firms was diverse, ranging
from electronics and digital entertainment products to
garments and textiles. Each firm was precontacted by
phone to assess its eligibility for inclusion, identify
appropriate key informants, and secure participation in
the study. The key informant was a person within the
importing firm whose main responsibility was dealing
with people in the Western exporting organization.10
The outcome of this process was that 267 firms (i.e.,
53.4%) agreed to take part in the survey. Some of the
reasons cited for nonparticipation were lack of available
time, absence of the key informant from the office, and
ceasing of business operations.
Fieldwork Procedures
Respondents had the option of answering either a Chinese
or an English version of the questionnaire. Following
three waves of reminders, 208 questionnaires (an
overall 41.6% response rate) were eventually collected
over a six-month period. We removed 6 questionnaires
due to incomplete or missing data, leaving 202 retained
for the analysis. To control for the existence of nonresponse
bias, we followed Mentzer and Flint’s (1997) recommendations:
we randomly identified nine items pertaining
to each of the key constructs contained in the
questionnaire, and we telephoned a group of 30 randomly
selected nonrespondents to provide answers to
each of these items. We then compared their responses
with those gathered from actual respondents using a ttest;
they revealed no statistically significant differences.
Scale Development
We identified appropriate scales for the focal constructs
after a careful review of the pertinent buyer-seller literature
(see the Appendix). However, the scales for the
three interpersonal constructs—sijiao, xinyong, and
ganging—were, to a great extent, self-developed in this
study because there was limited previous research examining
them.11 We measured interorganizational trust
with an eight-item scale adapted from Doney and Cannon
(1997). Cooperation comprised five items derived
from Leonidou, Palihawadana, and Theodosiou (2006).
We used a four-item scale developed by Gilliland and
Bello (2002) to measure commitment. We operationalized
the construct of satisfaction in line with six items
employed in Cannon and Perrault’s (1999) study. We
measured financial performance on a five-item scale
extracted from Lee, Yang, and Graham (2006).12 We
verified the face validity of our scales using the opinions
of three academic experts who had extensive experience
in the field. The scales were further refined on the basis
of insights gained from informal discussions with a
group of Hong Kong-based Chinese managers.
Research Instrument
The questionnaire had a structured format and consisted
of three sections. The first part included questions
relating to the background and history of the working
relationship. To eliminate potential selection bias pertaining
to the business relationship in question, each
respondent was asked to focus his or her response on
the fourth-most-significant relationship with a Western
exporting firm in terms of business volume (Anderson
32
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