How can top leadership build intra-organisational trust across hierarchical levels
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 17820933 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Lykke Mose (0009-0000-5368-2197, Roskilde University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Pages | 1-28 |
| Publication date | 2026-04-20 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Trust Research (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2151-559X • E-ISSN: 2151-5581 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/21515581.2026.2650314 |
| OpenAlex | W7155101327 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 63 |
In the last decade, trust-based governance approaches have gainedprominence in public administration as a means of enhancingmotivation, cooperation and effectiveness. However, thedevelopment of trust across different layers in multi-levelorganisations is particularly complex. Top-level leadership mustbe willing to make itself vulnerable despite being unable tointeract directly with the entire organisation to assess stafftrustworthiness. Moreover, while intra-organisational trust mayemerge from the interplay between institutional and interactionaltrust, it remains unclear how this interplay can be effectivelyorchestrated across organisational levels. This observation begsthe question: How can top-level leadership build intra-organisational trust across hierarchical levels? This article exploresan empirical case in which top-level leadership successfullyadvanced intra-organisational trust across municipal levels. Basedon analysis of the interplay among different forms of trust, thestudy identifies three central factors that explain how top-levelleadership successfully developed trust. These include an initialact of trust by top-level leaders, a mutually reinforcing interplaybetween institutional and interactional trust, and theestablishment of dialogue-supporting structures that enabledinteractional trust to emerge. The article offers recommendationsfor practitioners and underscores the need for further research intrust development across multiple levels
Context (archaeology) · Government (linguistics) · Key (lock) · Matching (statistics) · Perspective (graphical) · Work (physics) · Human Resource and Talent Management · Job Satisfaction and Organizational Behavior · Organizational Leadership and Management Strategies
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Distrust
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The research on trust in leadership
Trust development across levels of analysis
Trust and Distrust as Distinct Concepts
Changing the Paradigm
Co-creation
The Interplay Between Trust and Control in Governance Processes
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Local Democracy and Political Leadership
Predicting Public Sector Accountability
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Understanding the Trust-Control Nexus
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |