An Empirical Study of Nigerian Entrepreneurs’ Trust Perceptions of Chinese Business Partners

Trust is foundational to successful business partnership, and the trust dynamics between Nigerian entrepreneurs and their Chinese counterparts are shaped by cultural distance, prior experience, institutional quality, and information asymmetry. This study empirically examines the determinants and effects of trust perceptions among Nigerian entrepreneurs in their relationships with Chinese business partners. A quantitative survey design was adopted, with questionnaires administered to 200 Nigerian entrepreneurs in Lagos, Kano, and Abuja who have had at least two years of commercial dealings with Chinese suppliers, investors, or joint venture partners. Trust was operationalised through competence trust, integrity trust, and benevolence trust dimensions using an adapted cross-cultural trust scale. Regression analysis identified antecedents of each trust dimension and their effects on partnership performance and continuity intentions. Results indicate that prior positive deal outcomes are the strongest predictor of competence trust. Integrity trust is significantly lower among entrepreneurs who have experienced contract non-fulfilment by Chinese partners. Personal relationship investment, including social activities beyond business meetings, positively predicts benevolence trust. Competence trust is the strongest predictor of partnership continuity intentions among Nigerian entrepreneurs. The study fills an empirical gap in the Sino-African business trust literature and recommends that Nigerian business development programmes include Chinese partner due diligence training and relationship investment skills as components of their China-engagement curricula.

Keywords: business trust, Nigerian entrepreneurs, Chinese partners, empirical study, Sino-Nigerian commerce