Trust, Confidence and Voluntary Organisations

Between Values and Institutions

Datos Bibliográficos

ID2111611
AutoresFran Tonki (0009-0001-8484-0669, Goldsmiths University of London), Fran Tonkiss, Andrew Passey (0000-0003-2785-8050, National Council for Voluntary Organisations)
Año1999
Volumen33
Número2
Páginas257-274
Fecha de publicación1999-05-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaSociology (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0038-0385 • E-ISSN: 1469-8684
EditorialSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/s0038038599000164
OpenAlexW2049065793
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas53
Referencias citadas14

Recent debates within social and political theory, and within the public sphere more generally, reveal growing concern with issues of `trust'. While forms of voluntary association frequently are cited as prime examples of trust relations, they rarely provide a focus for such debates. In this paper we examine current developments within the voluntary sector in Britain, arguing that the relation of voluntary organisations to questions of trust is increasingly problematic. In particular a tension exists between trust relations based on principles of voluntarism and linked to shared values, and relations of confidence that are mediated by institutional and contractual forms. After surveying recent theoretical accounts of trust and confidence, we consider the relevance of these debates to the British voluntary sector. We then draw on a range of quantitative and qualitative research on the voluntary sector to examine how trust and confidence are negotiated with a number of key constituencies: the general public; government and institutional funders; business; and users or beneficiaries. Our argument is that, while resources of trust are linked to their core values, voluntary organisations are increasingly governed by formal measures designed to promote confidence

Argument (complex analysis) · Economics · Epistemology · Government (linguistics) · Management · Political science · Politics · Public relations · Relevance (law) · Sociology · Turnover · Voluntarism (philosophy) · Voluntary association · Voluntary sector · Irish and British Studies · Law · Nonprofit Sector and Volunteering · Public Policy and Administration Research · Social Capital and Networks