Moderating Effect of Dynamic Environment in the Relationship between Guanxi, Trust, and Repurchase Intention of Agricultural Materials

Lan Li, Gang Li, Xiaoling Feng, Zhigao Liu and Fu-Sheng Tsai
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Lan Li: Research Center of Henan Economy, School of Business Administration, Henan University of Economics and Law, Zhengzhou 450046, China
Gang Li: School of Management and Economics, North China University of Water Resources and Electric Power, Zhengzhou 450045, China
Xiaoling Feng: School of Management and Economics, North China University of Water Resources and Electric Power, Zhengzhou 450045, China
Zhigao Liu: Jiangsu FoxLink Green Energy Technology Co. LTD., Lianyungang 222000, China
Fu-Sheng Tsai: Department of Business Administration, Cheng Shiu University, Kaohsiung 83347, Taiwan

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 19, 1-23

Abstract: Repurchasing intention of agricultural materials is a key to a sustainable food business system. The novel contribution of this study is that we go beyond technical aspect and look into human capital dynamics in a general context, by examining how different dimensions of ‘guanxi’ (i.e., personal relations and instrumentality) between farmers and agricultural retailers affect trust between the two and, in turn, repeated purchase intention of agricultural materials by farmers in China. To further generate implications for food system as a whole, we also examined how dynamic environment moderates the effects mentioned above. Adopting survey method and multivariate analyses, this study tests the hypotheses with a collected data set of 578 farmers from representative rural areas of China. The results show that guanxi between farmers and agricultural retailers has a positive effect on trust between them and on repeated purchase intentions of farmers. While instrumentality has a negative effect on trust between them and on repeated purchase intentions of farmers. The trust between farmers and agricultural retailers promotes farmers’ repeated purchase intentions. The intensity of competition negatively moderates the positive relation between trust and repeated purchases. Demand uncertainty does not moderate the positive effect of trust on repeated purchases. The results and discussion shed light on agricultural food system sustainability from a dynamic environment embedded business relationship perspective.

Keywords: guanxi; trust; dynamic environment; repeated purchase intention; agricultural food system (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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