ABSTRACT This paper examines the role that gift giving plays in supplier–buyer relations, specifically, the role of gift giving and the creation of inter-organisational trust. Repeated inter-organisational exchanges in a mature industrial district are analysed using Mauss’ theoretical framework of gift giving, receiving and counter giving. Actors in embedded network relationships frequently exchange gifts and favours as part of commercial exchanges. This gift giving is a fundamental part of the exchange relationship. Gift giving is found to be instrumental in creating and maintaining relationships, defining group and individual identity and resolving conflicts, thus contributing to the creation of trust between partners. Mauss’ theory of gift giving elaborates how this practise creates the conditions for reciprocity and induces trust. The originality of our findings lies in the fact that despite the dominant ideology of the purely altruistic gift, field research demonstrates that gifts do play a role in modern economic exchanges and that this ancient deeply rooted social custom should not be simply relegated to families, close friends and Christmas, but contributes to explaining the first step of trust and trust creation in repeated exchanges.

中文翻译：

---

送礼，互惠和建立信任

摘要本文研究了赠与在供应商与买方关系中的作用，特别是赠与和组织间信任的建立。使用Mauss的赠与，赠与和赠与的理论框架，分析了成熟工业区中重复的组织间交流。嵌入式网络关系中的参与者经常交换礼物和恩惠，这是商业交易的一部分。赠送礼物是交换关系的基本组成部分。送礼有助于建立和维持关系，定义群体和个人身份以及解决冲突，从而有助于建立合作伙伴之间的信任。莫斯的馈赠理论详细阐述了这种做法如何为互惠创造条件并引起信任。