Reputation alone does not substitute for direct experience in inter-firm trust.

Evidence

The third point under consideration is the role of reputation in assuring compliance with the terms of the ‘moral contract’. To put this question in another way: do firms rely on reputation alone in determining whether to trust each other? The evidence suggests that reputation is important but no substitute for experience. — Diego Gambetta, Trust - Making and Breaking Cooperative…, 2606

Categorization

• XREF: This claim constrains the reputation-is-enough view (cf. Milgrom’s law-merchant model) and speaks to Hardin: reputation ratings can’t replace personally-tested reliability.