ABSTRACT
Trust, which refers to confidence in and reliability of a person or system, is examined within a business context. Given the failure of the state to provide support or to protect individuals in the experiences that characterise daily life, ethnic members are crucial in providing emotional and other forms of support during times of distress. Entrepreneurial trust is embedded in 'ontological security', a concept which refers to societal confidence in 'self-identity, and the constancy surrounding social and material environments of action'. In addition, it provides clues from which business partners can evaluate each other. Yet, trust is relevant because it reduces complexity and simplifies economic transaction. Network issues loom large in economic transactions, not only in developing countries, but to the industrially advanced parts of the world as well. In order to understand the operation of network relations, it is necessary to examine how foreign investors react to the socio-cultural milieu.
