Emory University Professor Sandy Jap’s research on development and management of business-to-business relationships was recently highlighted in a blog post on Forrester.com, a global research and advisory firm. The article describes the importance of building brand trust through repeated successes in context of the new digital age, as well as the fragility of brand trust itself. Professor Jap’s research calls attention to how trust for brands must be built incrementally over time, while the alternative, unexpected large gestures, can be off-putting. Jap explains this phenomenon in relationship terms:
“…When a husband suddenly bestows on his wife a beautiful bouquet of flowers for the first time in 15 years, he is perhaps not greeted with delight, but suspicion. A dramatic positive gesture undermines trust, because it is unexpected and out of character.”
