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This paper describes the construct of organizational trust as positive expectations individuals have about the intent and behaviors of multiple organizational members based on organizational roles, relationships, experiences, and interdependencies. The development and testing of a five-- dimensional model of organizational trust (competence, openness and honesty, concern for employees, reliability, and identification) is presented. The model, in turn, is related to employee job satisfaction and overall perceptions of organizational effectiveness. The model's implications for managers, human resources, and organization development practitioners are discussed. The paper concludes with future research issues and challenges.
Organizational Trust: What It Means, Why It Matters
Globalization, workplace diversity, increased awareness of cultural differences, downsizing, delayering, the call for (and in some cases the reality of) increased workplace democracy, international networks, complex alliances, information technologies, and decentralized decision making are only some of the events and processes during which trust assumes significant importance. Trust within and across organizations is conceived by many to be directly related to the ability to form new associations and networks of trusting relationships to accomplish business transactions and, therefore, is predictive of whether or not an organization will remain viable (Fukuyama, 1995). Additionally, trust has been linked to overall employee job satisfaction and perceived organizational effectiveness (Money, Shockley-Zalabak, & Cesaria, 1997). In a time of increased imperatives for change and less certainty about how change can and should occur, it is not surprising that a renewed interest in trust surfaces as scholars and practitioners alike seek to understand relationships among trust, cooperative behaviors, and organizational abilities to change (Kramer & Tyler, 1996).
The purpose of this paper is to describe the constructs of individual and organizational trust, present a research-based model of organizational trust with relationships to job satisfaction and perceived organizational effectiveness, and discuss the model's implications for managers, human resources, and organization development practitioners. The paper concludes with future research issues and challenges.
The Constructs of Individual and Organizational Trust: Definitional Issues
A general consensus among researchers concludes that trust is important in a range of organizational activities and processes such as team work, leadership, goal setting, performance appraisal, and in general, cooperative behaviors (Axelrod, 1984; Elangovan & Shapiro, 1998; Gambetta, 1988; Jones & George, 1998; Mayer, Davis, & Schoorman, 1995;...