Communication, Commitment & Trust: Exploring the Triad

Abstract

Despite growing interest on the issues of communication, trust and commitment, studies examining the interplaybetween all of these three variables are lacking. This paper attempts to address this gap. It draws on survey datainvolving 244 employees from a medium-size food processing organization operating in NSW (Australia). Thestudy explored relationships between communication, trust and commitment. Trust was measured by a six-itemscomposite scale assessing overall beliefs in good intentions of organization participants as well as the degree offaith/trust in various actors in the organization, including co-workers and managers at various levels of thehierarchy. Correlation analysis revealed that perceived effectiveness of communication between managementand employees, commitment & pride in working for the company and trust were significantly interrelated.However, the relationship between Trust and Communication was the strongest, with commitment also showinga significant relation to Trust. On the other hand, the relationship between commitment and communication wasrelatively weaker. The results demonstrate the importance of effective communication within organizations as itrelates to trust and organizational commitment. In particular, the study shows that trust and commitment do notjust happen; they are forged and maintained through effective communication. Implications for managementpractice and future research are discussed.