A Multidisciplinary Analysis of the Nature, Meaning, and Measurement of Trust

Reflections on an Initial Trust-Building Model

“…The nature of trust in its initial (versus ongoing) phase has drawn some discussion (Bhattacherjee, 2002;Tschannen-Moran and Hoy, 2000). Zaheer et al (1999) used MCC98 as an example of the importance of the time dimension in organizational research, arguing that initial trust has different antecedents from later phase trust and that initial trust is fragile.…”

“…While several have cited or used the MCC98 delineation into structural assurance and situational normality (Boyd, 2003;Gefen et al, 2003a;Pennington et al, 2003;Tschannen-Moran and Hoy, 2000), others are using more specific aspects of institution-based trust, such as the perceived effectiveness of escrow services, credit card guarantees, or online feedback mechanisms (Pavlou, 2002;Pavlou and Gefen, 2004). What needs resolution is whether the latter are subsets (subtypes) or antecedents of institution-based trust.…”

“…Several have proposed or acknowledged that institution-based trust (also called system trust, based on Luhmann, 1979) influences or relates to trusting beliefs or intentions (Tan and Thoen, 2003;Tschannen-Moran and Hoy, 2000). Empirical work supports this theme.…”

Trusting Trust in the Context of Higher Education: The Potential Limits of the Trust Concept

“…In addition to theoretical reviews, a large number of empirical studies in particular branches of the sciences and social sciences -including medicine, nursing, psychology, sociology, education, social anthropology, philosophy, organizational psychology, management science, economics and marketing -have been published which, in a specific and usually context-dependent manner, further illuminate the basic processes related to the concept of trust. However, the quantity of this work does not mean that trust currently represents a well-understood concept with clearly defined boundaries (see Tschannen-Moran & Hoy, 2000). In fact, it seems that researchers across specific disciplines are in agreement that trust is a theoretically and methodologically elusive, contextdependent, multilevel, discipline-bound -as well as culturally and historically changeablephenomenon (Johns, 1996;Rousseau et al, 1998;Hupcey et al, 2001;Swift, 2001;Jones, 2002;Goudge & Gilson, 2005;Yilmaz & Atalay, 2009).…”

“…Second, virtually all the literature in the field of education perceives trust as a virtue, having a positive impact on both interpersonal relations and organizational aspects in terms of development (Tschannen-Moran & Hoy, 2000). Hence, practically all propositions in education encourage the development of trusting relations.…”