The impact of culture and relational quality in the cooperation between export companies and local distributors

The increased globalization and internationalization of business has highlighted the importance of understanding the role of culture and the quality of relations in influencing the cooperation between companies from a cross-cultural perspective. The role of trust and commitment, on one side, and the role of cultural similarities and dissimilarities, on the other hand, was sparsely examined in international contexts. Thus, the aim of this research is to understand how the culture and the quality of relations characterized by trust and commitment affect the established cooperation between Portuguese exporting companies and their distributors in Angola. For this purpose, a qualitative analysis is carried out in five Portuguese exporting companies and five Angolan distributors. The selection of Portuguese companies was based on a list of the largest fifty Portuguese exporting companies to Angola, based on the Portuguese Investment and Foreign Trade Agency, EPE (AICEP), in August 2011. After conducting interviews with the managers of exporting companies, the collaborators responsible for the export activities, and the Angolan distributors, the results show that culture, trust and commitment have an impact on the cooperation between Portuguese exporting companies and their Angolan distributors.