Digital trust in business ecosystem collaboration : Leveraging digital technologies to develop a framework

Inter-organizational trust has been considered as a panacea in conducting successful transactions in the business-to-business context. When different firms with different organizational objectives interact and collaborate to achieve common goals, mutual trust plays a central role, particularly in dynamic collaboration in the business ecosystem. Therefore, developing inter-organizational trust in business ecosystems by leveraging digital technologies (Internet of things, artificial intelligence, blockchain, etc.) has become imperative. This chapter explores how digital technologies and digital transformation can be leveraged to develop digital trust among business ecosystem actors. It develops a conceptual framework based on integrating relevant literature as well as collecting empirical evidence from Business Finland’s “‘Digital Trust Finland’” program. The research findings aim to contribute to the theoretical and empirical discussion by integrating and connecting literature on inter-organizational trust and digitalization with a logical argument for a cross-cutting role of digital technologies. From the managerial perspective, the propositions of this study emphasize the need to develop digital trust among collaborating partners. The proposed framework may enable decision-makers in organizations to revolutionize traditional ways of collaboration, which is unavoidable in order to survive in the fast-paced digital age.