Not So Different After All: A Cross-Discipline View Of Trust

Abstract

The article discusses trust theory, multidisciplinary research, and trust between organizations. The analysis of trust is based on four questions: whether scholars can agree on the meaning of trust; if researchers are viewing trust statistically; if the status of trust--cause, effect, or interaction--changes across disciplines; and whether the levels of analysis also change. The “bandwidth” of trust--where trust and distrust are differentiated--can vary over time in the same relationship or coexist at the same time. Bandwidth types are deterrence-based trust, calculus-based trust, relational trust, and institution-based trust. Two conditions of trust are risk and interdependence. Three phases are building, stability, and dissolution. Several studies are mentioned.