Interest in the topic of trust both within and between organizations has grown greatly in recent years. One key issue to understanding trust and how it can be more effectively fostered is understanding its causes. Based on the 1995 Mayer, Davis, & Schoorman model of trust, this article describes exercises that allow students to inductively discover the importance of a trustee’s ability, benevolence, and integrity to the assessment of trustworthiness. Parallel exercises are described that can be used to teach both trust between people and trust between organizations.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Annison, M. H., & Wilford, D. S. (1998). Trust matters: New directions in health care leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass .
2.
Barney, J. B. (1997). Gaining and sustaining competitive advantage. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley .
3.
Bauer, T. N., & Green, S. G. (1996). Development of leader-member exchange: A longitudinal test . Academy of Management Journal, 39, 1538-1567 .
4.
Bell, G. G., Oppenheimer, R. J., & Bastien, A. (2002). Trust and deterioration in an international buyer-supplier relationship . Journal of Business Ethics, 36, 65-78 .
5.
Boyle, R., & Bonacich, P. (1970). The development of trust and mistrust in mixed-motive games . Sociometry, 33, 123-139 .
6.
Brockner, J., Siegel, P. A., Daly, J. P., Tyler, T., & Martin, C. (1997). When trust matters: The moderating effect of outcome favorability . Administrative Science Quarterly, 42, 558-583 .
7.
Burgelman, R. A., Maidique, M. A., & Wheelwright, S. C. (2001). Strategic management of technology and innovation (3rd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill .
8.
Butler, J. K. (1991). Toward understanding and measuring conditions of trust: Evolution of a conditions of trust inventory . Journal of Management, 17, 643-663 .
9.
Champoux, J. E. (2000). Organizational behavior: Essential tenets for a new millennium. Cincinnati, OH: South Western College Publishing .
10.
Cohen, A. R., Fink, S. L., Gadon, H., & Willits, R. D. (2001). Effective behavior in organizations (7th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill/Irwin .
11.
Cook, C. W., & Hunsaker, P. L. (2001). Management and organizational behavior (3rd ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill/Irwin .
12.
Cook, J., & Wall, T. (1980). New work attitude measures of trust, organizational commitment, and personal need non-fulfillment . Journal of Occupational Psychology, 53, 39-52 .
13.
Cullen, J. B., Johnson, J. L., & Sakano, T. (2000). Success through commitment and trust: The soft side of strategic alliance management . Journal of World Business, 35, 223-240 .
14.
Currall, S. C., & Judge, T. A. (1995). Measuring trust between organizational boundary role persons . Organizational Behavior & Human Decision Processes, 64, 151-170 .
15.
Daft, R. L., & Noe, R. A. (2001). Organizational behavior. Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt College Publishers .
16.
Dasgupta, P. (1988). Trust as a commodity. In D. G. Gambetta (Ed.), Trust (pp. 49-72). New York: Blackwell .
17.
David, F. R. (2001). Strategic management: Concepts (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall .
18.
Davis, J. H., Schoorman, F. D., Mayer, R. C., & Tan, H. H. (2000). The trusted general manager and business unit performance: Empirical evidence of a competitive advantage . Strategic Management Journal, 21, 563-576 .
19.
De Kluyner, C. A. (2000). Strategic thinking: An executive perspective. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall .
20.
Dess, G. G., & Lumpkin, G. T. (2003). Strategic management: Creating competitive advantages. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin .
21.
Deutsch, M. (1960). The effect of motivational orientation upon trust and suspicion . Human Relations, 13, 123-140 .
22.
Farris, G., Senner, E., & Butterfield, D. (1973). Trust, culture, and organizational behavior . Industrial Relations, 12, 144-157 .
23.
Flaherty, K. E., & Pappas, J. M. (2000). The role of trust in salesperson—sales manager relationships . Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 20, 271-278 .
24.
Frost, T., Stimpson, D. V., & Maughan, M. R. C. (1978). Some correlates of trust . Journal of Psychology,99, 103-108 .
25.
Fukuyama, F. (1995). Trust: The social virtues & the creation of prosperity. New York: Free Press .
26.
Gabarro, J. (1978). The development of trust, influence, and expectations. In A. G. Athos & J. J. Gabarro (Eds.), Interpersonal behavior: Communication and understanding in relationships (pp. 290-303). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall .
27.
Ghemawat, P. (1999). Strategy and the business landscape: Text and cases. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley .
28.
Giffin, K. (1967). The contribution of studies of source credibility to a theory of interpersonal trust in the communication department . Psychological Bulletin, 68, 104-120 .
29.
Good, D. (1988). Individuals, interpersonal relations, and trust. In D. G. Gambetta (Ed.), Trust (pp. 131-185). New York: Blackwell .
30.
Gulati, R. (1995). Does familiarity breed trust? The implications of repeated ties for contractual choice in alliances . Academy of Management Journal, 38, 82-112 .
31.
Hagen, J. M., & Choe, S. (1998). Trust in Japanese interfirm relations: Institutional sanctions matter . Academy of Management Review, 23, 589-600 .
32.
Hart, K. M., Capps, H. R., Cangemi, J. P., & Caillouet, L. M. (1986). Exploring organizational trust and its multiple dimensions: A case study of General Motors . Organizational Development Journal, 4(2), 31-39 .
33.
Hellriegel, D., Slocum, J. W., Jr., & Woodman, R. W. (2001). Organizational behavior (9th ed.). Cincinnati, OH: South Western College Publishing .
34.
Hitt, M. A., Ireland, R. D., & Hoskisson, R. E. (2001). Strategic management: Competitiveness and globalization (4th ed.). Cincinnati, OH: South Western College Publishing .
35.
Inkpen, A. C., & Li, K.-Q. (1999). Joint venture formation: Planning and knowledge-gathering for success . Organizational Dynamics, 27, 33-47 .
36.
Ivancevich, J. M., & Matteson, M. T. (2002). Organizational behavior and management (6th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill/Irwin .
37.
Iverson, R. D., & McLeod, C. S. (1996). The role of employee commitment and trust in service relationships . Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 14, 36-44 .
38.
Jarvenpaa, S., Knoll, K., & Leidner, D. E. (1998). Is anybody out there? Antecedents of trust in global virtual teams . Journal of Management Information Systems, 14(4), 29-54 .
39.
Jeffries, F. L., & Reed, R. (2000). Trust and adaptation in relational contracting . Academy of Management Review, 25, 873-882 .
40.
Jones, A. P., James, L. R., & Bruni, J. R. (1975). Perceived leadership behavior and employee confidence in the leader as moderated by job involvement . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 43, 1306-1317 .
41.
Joyce, P. (1999). Strategic management for the public services. Philadelphia: Open University Press .
42.
Joyce, P., & Woods, A. (2001). Strategic management: A fresh approach to developing skills, knowledge and creativity. Milford, CT: Kogan Page .
43.
Kee, H. W., & Knox, R. E. (1970). Conceptual and methodological considerations in the study of trust . Journal of Conflict Resolution, 14, 357-366 .
44.
Kreitner, R., & Kinicki, A. (2001). Organizational behavior (5th ed.). Boston: Irwin/McGraw-Hill .
45.
Larzelere, R., & Huston, T. (1980). The dyadic trust scale: Toward understanding interpersonal trust in close relationships . Journal of Marriage and the Family, 42, 595-604 .
46.
Lieberman, J. K. (1981). The litigious society. New York: Basic Books .
47.
Luhmann, N. (1988). Familiarity, confidence, trust: Problems and alternatives. In D. G. Gambetta (Ed.), Trust (pp. 94-107). New York: Blackwell .
48.
Luthans, F. (2002). Organizational behavior (9th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill/Irwin .
49.
Macmillan, H., & Tampoe, M. (2000). Strategic management: Process, content, and implementation. New York: Oxford University Press Inc .
50.
Mayer, R. C., & Davis, J. H. (1999). The effect of the performance appraisal system on trust for management: A field quasi-experiment . Journal of Applied Psychology, 84, 123-136 .
51.
Mayer, R. C., Davis, J. H., & Schoorman, F. D. (1995). An integrative model of organizational trust . Academy of Management Review, 20, 709-734 .
52.
Mayer, R. C., & Gavin, M. B. (1999, August). Trust for management and performance: Who minds the shop while the employees watch the boss? Paper presented at Academy of Management annual meeting, Chicago.
53.
Mishra, A. K. (1996). Organizational responses to crisis: The centrality of trust. In R. M. Kramer & T. R. Tyler (Eds.), Trust in organizations: Frontiers of theory and research (pp. 261-287). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage .
54.
Mohr, J., & Spekman, R. (1994). Characteristics of partnership success: Partnership attributes, communication behavior, and conflict resolution techniques . Strategic Management Journal,15, 135-152 .
55.
Nahavandi, A., & Malekzadeh, A. R. (1999). Organizational behavior: The person-organization fit. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall .
56.
Nelson, D. L., & Quick, J. C. (2003). Organizational behavior: Foundations, realities, & challenges (4th ed.). Cincinnati, OH: Thomson South Western .
57.
Newstrom, J. W., & Davis, K. (2002). Organizational behavior: Human behavior at work (11th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill/Irwin .
58.
Nooteboom, B. (1996). Trust, opportunism, and governance: A process and control model . Organization Studies, 17, 985-1010 .
59.
Parkhe, A. (1998). Building trust in international alliances . Journal of World Business, 33, 417-437 .
60.
Pearce, J. A., & Robinson, R. B., Jr. (2000). Strategic management: Formulation, implementation, and control (7th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill .
61.
Pearson, G. (1999). Strategy in action: Strategic thinking, understanding and practice. Essex, UK: Financial Times Prentice Hall .
62.
Pitts, R. A., & Lei, D. (2000). Strategic management: Building and sustaining competitive advantage (2nd ed.). Cincinnati, OH: South Western College Publishing .
63.
Raghuram, S., Gamd, R., Wiesenfeld, B., & Guptaa, V. (2001). Factors contributing to virtual work adjustment . Journal of Management, 27, 383-405 .
64.
Ring, P. S., & Van de Ven, A. H. (1992). Structuring cooperative relationships between organizations . Strategic Management Journal, 13, 483-498 .
65.
Robbins, S. P. (2001). Organizational behavior (9th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall .
66.
Rousseau, D. M., Sitkin, S. B., Burt, R. S., & Camerer, C. (1998). Not so different after all: A cross-discipline view of trust . Academy of Management Review, 23, 393-404 .
67.
Schindler, P. L., & Thomas, C. C. (1993). The structure of interpersonal trust in the workplace . Psychological Reports, 73, 563-573 .
68.
Schoorman, F. D., Mayer, R. C., & Davis, J. H. (1996, April). Empowerment in Veterinary Clinics: The role of trust in delegation . Paper presented at Annual Meeting of Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, San Diego.
69.
Shaw, R. B. (1997). Trust in the balance: Building successful organizations on results, integrity, and concern. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass .
70.
Shermerhorn, J. R., Jr., Hunt, J. G., & Osborn, R. N. (2000). Organizational behavior (7th ed.). New York: John Wiley .
71.
Sitkin, S. B., & Roth, N. L. (1993). Explaining the limited effectiveness of legalistic “remedies” for trust/distrust . Organization Science, 4, 367-392 .
72.
Sivadas, E., & Dwyer, F. R. (2000). An examination of organizational factors influencing new product success in internal and alliance-based processes . Journal of Marketing, 64, 31-49 .
73.
Solomon, L. (1960). The influence of some types of power relationships and game strategies upon the development of interpersonal trust . Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 61, 223-230 .
74.
Spreitzer, G. M., & Mishra, A. K. (1999). Giving up control without losing control . Group & Organization Management, 24, 155-187 .
75.
Strickland, L. H. (1958). Surveillance and trust . Journal of Personality, 26, 200-215 .
76.
Sundbo, J. (2001). The strategic management of innovation: A sociological and economic theory. Northhampton, MA: Edward Elgar .
77.
Sweeney, P. D., & McFarlin, D. B. (2002). Organizational behavior: Solutions for management. Boston: McGraw-Hill/Irwin .
78.
Volery, T., & Mensik, S. (1998). The role of trust in creating effective alliances: A managerial perspective . Journal of Business Ethics, 17, 987-994 .
79.
Wagner, J. A., III, & Hollenbeck, J. R. (2002). Organizational behavior: Securing competitive advantage (4th ed.). Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt College Publishers .
80.
Wheelen, T. L., & Hunger, D. (2002). Strategic management and business policy: Entering 21st century global society (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall .
81.
Zaheer, A., McEvily, B., & Perrone, V. (1998). Does trust matter? Exploring the effects of interorganizational and interpersonal trust on performance . Organization Science, 9, 141-159 .
