Most prior research on buyer-supplier relationships focuses on established relationships and neglects newer, earlyphase relationships. Moreover, while buyer-supplier exchanges provide economic value, the social component often defines the relationship. The current research fills a void in the literature by focusing on newer relationships and assessing the impact of two social dimensions (buyer-supplier homophily and salesperson liking) on both trust and governance structure. Findings from two empirical studies provide support for the positive impact of homophily (value similarity) and salesperson liking on trust in early-phase relationships. Interestingly, homiphily is found to be more impactful on trust than liking in these relationships.