Building Partner Loyalty through Trust and Relational Commitment: Evidence from the Halal Tourism Industry

Abstract

Business-to-business (B2B) relationships are fundamental to the success of the halal tourism industry, where long-term collaboration among tourism stakeholders is essential for delivering integrated services. Although commitment-trust theory has been widely applied to explain successful interorganizational relationships, empirical evidence in the context of halal tourism remains limited. This study examines the relationships among trust, commitment, and loyalty in B2B relationships within NTB halal tourism industry. A quantitative survey was conducted among 223 halal tourism businesses located in five leading halal tourism destinations in Indonesia. Respondents were selected using purposive sampling, and the proposed model was analysed using covariance-based structural equation modelling (CB-SEM). The findings reveal that trust has a significant positive effect on relational commitment and partner loyalty. Relational commitment also positively influences partner loyalty, indicating that firms with stronger commitment are more likely to maintain long-term cooperative relationships. Furthermore, relational commitment partially mediates the relationship between trust and loyalty, confirming the central propositions of commitment-trust theory in the halal tourism context. These findings extend the application of commitment-trust theory to interorganizational relationships in halal tourism and provide practical insighats for tourism associations, destination managers, and business practitioners seeking to strengthen trust-based partnerships and sustainable collaboration among halal tourism stakeholders.