Blockchain technology and trust relationships in trade finance

•Blockchain improves the security of transactions and data exchanges.•Blockchain enhances the efficiency and the quality of communication.•Blockchain facilitates the expression of benevolence.•Blockchain increases the predictability of trading partners.•Hyperledger technologies offer configurational flexibility to businesses. Blockchain technology has been advocated as a possible solution to enduring trust issues among trading partners in trade finance. We conducted in-depth interviews with industry experts to examine how blockchain technology influences the trust relationships among trading partners. Our results show that the technology enhances trust relationships by (1) improving the security of transactions and data exchanges, (2) facilitating the expression of benevolence, (3) enhancing the efficiency and the quality of communication, and (4) increasing the predictability of trading partners. The paper concludes with implications for both research and practice.