Determinants of Business Success: Trust or Business Policy?

ABSTRACTMost times businesses prefer to trust their business partners and customers in achieving success than keeping to the rules and regulations guiding the business activities. Experience has also shown that many businesses claimed to rely on trust to achieve business success, however, business policy seems to play more significant and effective role in achieving business success and keeping the business going. Therefore, the issue of whether trust determines business success better than business policy called for an urgent attention as many businesses relied on trust rather than business policy. In view of this, the paper examines which among one of these factors better determine business success. It examined trust and business policy based on credit and loans perspective. Based on the literature and previous business experience, it was argued that businesses could make better success and prevent the business from death by sticking on their business policy rather than mere business trust which could be injured.Keywords: Determinants, business, success, trust, business policy, bankruptcyINTRODUCTION:There is no doubt that the major purpose of setting up a business is to make profit, achieve success and ensure the continuous existence. Therefore, a successful business is one that produces a very acceptable return on the assets employed. It is that which is positioned to keep on running well without depending on the owner to be in daily attendance (Changing Minds, 2012). In this regard, the success of any business is therefore, very paramount to the owner (s) and on the other hand, the owners' joy is as a result of the success of the business. However, a business does not just achieve success; certain factors would have played very significant function. Therefore, businesses must identify which factors best influence their business success in order to capitalise on such factors especially in this present global competitive environment where businesses are struggling to achieve success at all cost. More often than not, most businesses around the globe relied highly on trust as their determinant success factor. However, relying on trust could be very devastating as many businesses have gone down the drain as a result of their trust on the customers as well as the business partners (Changing Minds, 2012). On the other hand, keeping to the rule of the game (business policy) could be better in achieving success than trust as business policy would guide the business to the right path and prevent the business from taking wrong decisions that could cause its death.With respect to above, this paper raises an argument on which of these two determinants (trust and business policy) best determines business success. Therefore, the question of which of these determinants poses to be a better business success determinant is of great concern to this study. For example, experience has also shown that many businesses claimed to rely on trust to achieve business success, however, business policy seems to play more significant and effective role in achieving business success. Therefore, the issue of whether trust determines business success better than business policy called for an urgent attention as many businesses have misconstrued this by preferring trust to business policy.Although extensive studies have been conducted on business success determinants (e.g Lucky and Minai, 2012; Lucky, 2011; Lucky, 2012; Man et al., 2002), however, certain determinants have not been considered (Jasra, Khan, Hunjra, Rehman, and Azam, 2011). For instance, factors such as trust and business policy which authors have noted to play significant roles in business success are yet to be considered in determining the business success. Apart from this, Lucky and Minai (2011); Man, Lau and Chan (2002) have argued that investigation on success factors still deserve further attention particularly in the study of business management. …