The study reported in this article aimed to explore the trust protégés felt for their mentors and the effects different dimensions of relationships that can influence this trust in mentoring relationships within academic organizations. The questions defined for this research regarded which dimensions of professional relationships actually do influence protégés' trust, which of those underlying dimensions make trust stronger, and the results the trust protégés felt for their mentor produced in terms of the function of mentoring. The interview form used to answer these questions consisted of two parts. The first part included general questions on the characteristics of mentors and protégés and the functions of mentoring. The second part included 24 questions designed specifically to identify the underlying elements of trust in mentoring relationships. The dimensions specifically were competence, consistency, communication, interest taken in the protégé, fairness, and sharing of control. Thirty-two protégés agreed to take part in the structured interviews, and the total time spent on interviews was 35 hours. The study revealed that among the elements necessary for the building of trust in one's professional mentor, sharing of control and fair behavior were dimension of the mentoring relationship that protégés had positive perceptions and experiences of. Another important finding in terms of positive and negative perceptions was that protégés identify their positive perceptions more with the personal efforts of their mentor. Negative perceptions were seen to be related to factors such as faculty and university culture, legal matters and regulations, law and regulations creating rigid university procedures, and mentors' and protégés' personal characteristics.
PurposeThis study aims to investigate the relationship between cooperative and competitive behavioral tendencies and trust of coworkers in organizations. Two main hypotheses were developed. The first hypothesis was that cooperativeness and trust in coworkers is positively correlated. The second hypothesis was that competitiveness and trust in coworkers is negatively correlated.Design/methodology/approachThe sample was 442 Turkish tourism sector employees in a labor-intensive industry. Two scales were used to measure trust in coworkers and cooperativeness/competitiveness. A hierarchical regression analysis was performed to understand how individuals' behavioral tendency affects their coworkers' trust in them.FindingsThe findings strongly supported the first hypothesis, in that cooperativeness was positively correlated with trust in coworkers. The second hypothesis was only partially supported because there was no significant relationship between competitiveness and the competency and trustworthiness dimensions of trust. Unselfishness aspect of trust, however, was negatively correlated with competitiveness.Research limitations/implicationsThe main contribution of this study is to show that employee cooperativeness and competitiveness can affect trust in coworker relations. However, the measurement of competitiveness and cooperativeness measurement had limitations due to differences in the culture-specific meanings of cooperation and competition. Future research employing mixed methods research is needed to further explain the content of the two tendencies and the relationship between the concepts.Originality/valueThe literature on trust and employee relations tends to focus more on the issue of trust between managers and subordinates while neglecting the complex and multifaceted structure of trust in employee–employer relations. However, new working forms mean that horizontal relations are increasingly important. Therefore, more research is needed to address the tendencies and structures that affect trust in coworkers. This study draws attention to the potential role of cooperative and competitive behaviors in trust in horizontal employee relations.
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