Straining towards trust

Some constraints essay on studying trust in organizations

Bibliographic Data

ID12167641
AuthorsMark Fichman (0000-0001-9265-1879, Carnegie Mellon University, corresponding author)
Year2003
Volume24
Issue2
Pages133-157
Publication date2003-02-19
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Organizational Behavior (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0894-3796 • E-ISSN: 1099-1379
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/job.189
OpenAlexW2053490500
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited67

Trust is of great interest in organizational research and the social sciences. It is argued here that any theory of trust ought to treat a set of observed empirical regularities as constraints. A constraint on a theory is either an assumption made in constructing the theory (e.g., we assume people have a tendency to be fair in their dealings with others) or an explanandum (e.g., we must explain the tendency people have to be fair in their dealings with others) for which the theory must account. These constraints are best thought of in an evolutionary framework, with intellectual links to game theory, evolutionary biology and evolutionary psychology. In particular, (1) people are disposed towards fairness and reciprocity, they have (2) cognitive modules and (3) emotional dispositions which safeguard them against cheating and trust violation. Given these three constraints, any theory should consider the (4) evidence for cultural constraints on trust, trusting behavior and decisions. These constraints together point us towards an integrated ecology of trust where culture, individual dispositions and cognition jointly influence observed trusting behavior. Some work, particularly Gintis et al. (2002) on altruism, strong reciprocity and cooperation, suggests such an approach to studying trust. The purpose of this essay is to identify this work, organize it, and argue for its bearing on the study of trust and organizations. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Altruism (biology · Cheating · Cognition · Constraint (computer-aided design · Economics · Epistemology · Evolutionary psychology · Evolutionary theory · Positive economics · Reciprocity (cultural anthropology · Set (abstract data type · Sociology · Computer Science · Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation · Experimental Behavioral Economics Studies · Game Theory and Applications · Philosophy · Psychology · Social Psychology

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