Nothing Special   »   [go: up one dir, main page]
Skip to main content
Springer Nature Link
Log in

The Meaning(s) of Trust. A Content Analysis on the Diverse Conceptualizations of Trust in Scholarly Research on Business Relationships

  • Published:
Journal of Business Ethics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Scholarly research largely converges on the argument that trust is of paramount importance to drive economic agents toward mutually satisfactory, fair, and ethically compliant behaviors. There is, however, little agreement on the meaning of trust, whose conceptualizations differ with respect to actors, relationships, behaviors, and contexts. At present, we know much better what trust does than what trust is. In this article, we present an extensive review and analysis of the most prominent articles on trust in market relationships. Using computer-aided content analysis and network analysis methods, we identify key, recurring dimensions that guided the conceptualization of trust in past research, and show how trust can be developed as a multifaceted and layered construct. Our results are an important contribution to a convergence of research toward a shared and common view of the meaning of trust. This process is important to ensure the body of trust research’s internal theoretical consistency, and to provide reliable and common principles for the management of business relationships – a context in which opportunism and imperfect information may induce economic actors to cheat and stray from fair and ethically compliant behaviors.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

References

Only the references cited in the text are provided. The complete list of the references used for this study is available on request (from the authors).

  • Andaleeb, S. S.: 1992, ‘The Trust Concept: Research Issues for Channels of Distribution’, Research in Marketing, 11, 1-34.

    Google Scholar 

  • Andaleeb, S. S.: 1995, ‘Dependence Relations and the Moderating Role of Trust: Implications for Behavioral Intentions in Marketing Channel’, International Journal of Research in Marketing, 12(2), 157-172.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Audi, R.: 2008, ‘Some Dimensions of Trust in Business Practices: From Financial and Product Representation to Licensure and Voting’, Journal of Business Ethics, 80(1), 97-102.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barber, B.: 1983, The Logic and Limits of Trust, (Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, NJ).

    Google Scholar 

  • Berg, B. L.: 1995, Qualitative Research Methods for the Social Sciences, (Allyn and Bacon, Boston), 2nd edition.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boyatzis, R. E.: 1998, Transforming Qualitative Information: Thematic Analysis and Code Development, (Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA).

    Google Scholar 

  • Brien, A.: 1998, ‘Professional Ethics and The Culture of Trust’, Journal of Business Ethics, 17(4), 391-409.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Choi, C. Eldomiaty, T. and S. Kim, 2007, ‘Consumer Trust, Social Marketing and Ethics of Welfare Exchange’, Journal of Business Ethics, 74(1), 17-23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crosby, L. A. Evans, K. R. and D. Cowles: 1990, ‘Relationship Quality in Service Selling: An Interpersonal Influence Perspective’, Journal of Marketing, 54 (July), 68-81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dwyer, F.R. and S. Oh: 1987, ‘Output Sector Munificence Effects on the Internal Political Economy of Marketing Channels’, Journal of Marketing Research, 23(November), 347-358.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dwyer, F. R., Schurr P. H. and S. Oh: 1987, ‘Developing Buyer-Seller Relationships’, Journal of Marketing, 51(April), 11-27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fan, D.P.: 1997, ‘Computer content analysis of press coverage and prediction of public opinion for the 1995 sovereignty referendum in Quebec’, Social Science Computer Review, 15(4), 351-366.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gambetta, D.: 1988, ‘Can we Trust?’, in D. Gambetta (ed)., Trust: Making and Breaking Cooperative Relations, (Basil Blackwell Ltd, Oxford).

    Google Scholar 

  • Ganesan, S.: 1994, ‘Determinants of Long- Term Orientation in Buyer–Seller Relationships’, Journal of Marketing, 58(2), 1-19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • García-Marzá, D.: 2005, ‘Trust and Dialogue: Theoretical Approaches to Ethics Auditing’, Journal of Business Ethics, 57(3), 209-219.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garfield, E.: 1979, Citation Indexing: Its Theory and Application in Science, Technology and the Humanities, (Wiley, New York).

    Google Scholar 

  • Geyskens, I., Steenkamp J. B. and N. Kumar: 1998, ‘Generalizations about Trust in Marketing Channel Relationships Using Meta-Analysis’, International Journal of Research in Marketing, 15(3), 223-248.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gustafsson, C.: 2005, ‘Trust as an Instance of Asymmetrical Reciprocity: An Ethics Perspective on Corporate Brand Management’, Business Ethics, 14(2), 142-150.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kramer, R.M. and T.R. Tyler (eds.): 1996, Trust in Organizations: Frontiers of Theory and Research, (Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA).

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuhn, T.S.: 1970, The structure of scientific revolutions, (The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, second edition).

    Google Scholar 

  • Lane, C. and R. Bachmann (eds.): 1998, Trust Within and Between Organizations. Conceptual Issues and Empirical Analysis, (Oxford University Press, Oxford).

    Google Scholar 

  • Lane, P. J., Koka B. R. and S. Pathak: 2006, ‘The reification of absorptive capacity: A critical review and rejuvenation of the construct’, Academy of Management Review, 31(4), 833–863.

    Google Scholar 

  • Luhmann, N.: 1979, Trust and Power, (Wiley, New York).

    Google Scholar 

  • Mayer, R. C., Davis J. H. and F. D. Schoorman: 1995, ‘An Integrative Model of Organizational Trust’, Academy of Management Review, 20(3), 709-734.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McAllister, D. J.: 1995, ‘Affect- and Cognition-Based Trust as Foundations for Interpersonal Cooperation in Organizations’, Academy of Management Journal, 38(1). 24-59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Merton, R.K.: 1973, The sociology of science: Theoretical and empirical investigations, (University of Chicago Press, Chicago).

    Google Scholar 

  • Moorman, C., Deshpandé R. and G. Zaltman: 1992, ‘Relationships Between Providers and Users of Market Research: the Dynamics of Trust Within and Between Organizations’, Journal of Marketing Research, 29(August), 314-328.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moorman, C., Deshpandé R. and G. Zaltman: 1993, ‘Factors Affecting Trust in Market Research Relationships’, Journal of Marketing, 57(January), 81-101.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morgan, R. M. and S. D. Hunt: 1994, ‘The Commitment-Trust Theory of Relationship Marketing’, Journal of Marketing, 58(July), 20-38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pruitt, D.G.: 1981, Negotiation Behavior, (Academic Press, New York).

    Google Scholar 

  • Pučėtaitė, R. and A.M. Lämsä: 2008, ‘Developing Organizational Trust Through Advancement of Employees’ Work Ethic in a Post-Socialist Context’, Journal of Business Ethics, 82(2), 325-337.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ross, W.T. and D.C. Robertson: 2007, ‘Compound Relationships Between Firms’, Journal of Marketing, 71(2), 108-123.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rotter, J. B.: 1967, ‘A New Scale for Measurement of Interpersonal Trust’, Journal of Personality, 35(4), 651-665.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rousseau, D. M and R. J House: 1994, ‘Meso Organizational Behavior: Avoiding Three Fundamental Biases’, Journal of Organizational Behavior, 1: 13-30.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rousseau, D. M., Sitkin S. B., Burt R. S. and C. Camerer: 1998, ‘Not so Different After All: A Cross-Discipline View of Trust’, Academy of Management Review, 23(3), 393-404.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schoorman, F.D., Mayer, R.C., Davis, J.H.: 2007, ‘An integrative model of organizational trust: Past, present, and future’, Academy of Management Review, 32 (2), pp. 344–354.

    Google Scholar 

  • Small, B. and M. Mallon: 2007, ‘Science, Society, Ethics, and Trust’, International Studies of Management & Organization, 37(1), 103-124.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Svensson, G: 2001, ‘Extending Trust and Mutual Trust in Business Relationships Towards a Synchronised Trust Chain in Marketing Channels’, Management Decision, 39(6), 431-440.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Swan, J. E., Bowers M. R. and L. D. Richardson: 1999, ‘Customer Trust in the Salesperson: An Integrative Review and Meta-Analysis of the Empirical Literature’, Journal of Business Research, 44(3), 93-107.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vigoda-Gadot, E.: 2007, ‘Citizens’ Perceptions of Politics and Ethics in Public Administration: A Five-Year National Study of Their Relationship to Satisfaction with Services, Trust in Governance, and Voice Orientations’, Journal of Public Administration Research & Theory, 17(2), 285-305.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wasserman, S. and K. Faust: 1994, Social network analysis: Methods and applications, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • White, T. I.: 1998, ‘Sexual Harassment: Trust and the Ethic of Care’, Business & Society Review, 100(101), 9-21.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the Editor and the two anonymous referees for their insightful comments on prior versions of this article. The authors would like also to thank Consuelo Gastaldo for her support in the earlier steps of the research process.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. SDA Bocconi School of Management, Bocconi University, Milan, Italy

    Sandro Castaldo, Katia Premazzi & Fabrizio Zerbini

Authors
  1. Sandro Castaldo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Katia Premazzi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Fabrizio Zerbini
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Katia Premazzi.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Castaldo, S., Premazzi, K. & Zerbini, F. The Meaning(s) of Trust. A Content Analysis on the Diverse Conceptualizations of Trust in Scholarly Research on Business Relationships. J Bus Ethics 96, 657–668 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-010-0491-4

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-010-0491-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation