The process of trust creation between business partners at the golf course: a long-term process

Literature on management, as well as practical experience and various scientific studies, indicates that informal and personal interaction is of crucial importance in the world of business. Locations away from the office provide the proper circumstances for a close bond to be developed. This is particularly true for events (such as informal dinners and outdoor activities like golf). Such settings are regularly used to strengthen and consolidate long-term, trust-based relationships. In the long run, these might lead to business deals. Because these settings are so distinct from the usual professional settings, it is possible to raise personal matters and to have a conversation on far less rigid terms. This study, which focuses on the instrumentality of social relations, shows that informality in business relations is a way to create long-term, trust- based relationships between (potential) business partners at the golf course in the Netherlands.