European Journal of Marketing :Trust: current thinking and future research 41

## Purpose The primary purpose of this article is to introduce the special issue on trust in marketing and the selected papers. However, it has a secondary objective of acting as a brief introduction to the concept of trust, of highlighting the scope and scale of research into the concept in a range of disciplines, and of stimulating more research in areas identified as still being under‐explored. ## Design/methodology/approach This is a discursive paper based on analysis and synthesis of trust literature and of submissions to the special issue. ## Findings This paper finds that despite a broad spectrum of disciplines that investigate trust, and despite this special issue in the area of marketing, there are still areas open for research into trust in marketing, for example the role of trust in a B2C context, the impact of indirect (referent) experience versus direct experience of levels of trust, and exploring the concept using more interpretivist or phenomenological approaches. ## Research limitations/implications The historical synthesis provides researchers new to the field with some foundational literature. For those interested in current thoughts, the discussion provides a synthesis of the areas represented by the paper in this special issue. For those interested in new areas it offers suggestions as to some possibilities. ## Originality/value The value of the paper lies in linking the special issue articles to areas of current interest and the identification of under‐researched areas of trust in a marketing context. Cover......Page 1 CONTENTS......Page 2 EDITORIAL REVIEW BOARD......Page 5 Trust – current thinking and future research......Page 6 The nature of trust in brands: a psychosocial model......Page 13 An analysis of antecedents and consequences of trust in a corporate brand......Page 24 Trust and reliance in business relationships......Page 41 Explaining buyers’ responses to sellers’ violation of trust......Page 58 The impact of psychological contracts on trust and commitment in supplier-distributor relationships......Page 78 Trust in buyer-seller relationships: the challenge of environmental (green) adaptation......Page 98 Personal characteristics, trust, conflict, and effectiveness in marketing/sales working relationships......Page 142 Interpersonal trust between marketing and R&D during new product development projects......Page 171 Role of electronic trust in online retailing......Page 198 Research on trust: a bibliography and brief bibliometric analysis of the special issue submissions......Page 228 The primary purpose of this text is to introduce the special issue on trust in marketing and the selected papers. However, it has a secondary objective of acting as a brief introduction to the concept of trust, of highlighting the scope and scale of research into the concept in a range of disciplines, and of stimulating more research in areas identified as still being under‐explored.