At What Level (and in Whom) We Trust: Trust Across Multiple Organizational Levels

The Multidimensionality of Trust: Applications in Collaborative Natural Resource Management

“…Characteristics of the trustor help to define their predispositions to be generally trusting or distrusting (Mayer et al 1995, Schoorman et al 2007). While some authors argue that these predispositions are relatively stable (Mayer et al 1995), others highlight that dispositional trust may be largely context dependent (Fulmer and Gelfand 2012;Huff and Kelley 2003). Moreover, trustors will have different degrees of vulnerability and power in different situations, delineating different forms and degrees of risk in decision making.…”

“…In other words, in different situations, one might start from a position of trust or distrust prior to engaging with another entity. For example, employees in a work environment that is generally empowering and encourages creative thought and risk taking may be more predisposed to trust others within that environment (Fulmer and Gelfand 2012).…”

“…Alternatively, it can be context or trustee specific, as in the tendency to trust someone with a particular title or other form of authority in a certain situation for no other reason than that person's position. Individuals may also have dispositional tendencies to trust in objects or institutions (Fulmer and Gelfand 2012). The relevance of dispositional trust to collaborative natural resource management is that it sets a baseline prior to forming any other type of cognitive or affective trust assessment.…”

“…Trust held by community members for natural resource agencies has also been shown to increase public approval of management decisions and minimize resistance to planning efforts (Cvetkovich and Winter 2003;Lachapelle and McCool 2012;Vaske et al 2007). Studies from multiple disciplines have identified trust as an important driver of collaboration, conflict resolution, and enhanced group performance in various contexts (Fulmer and Gelfand 2012;Ostrom 2003).…”

“…The work of Lijeblad and others (2009) provides some additional support for this notion, although the authors clearly note a practical need for identifying separate dimensions of trust to effectively guide management approaches. 1 Thus, while the importance of trust as an essential ingredient for effective natural resource management, and especially for collaborative efforts, has been recognized for more than two decades in the natural resources field (Ostrom 1990;Pretty and Ward 2001), trust theory remains underexplored within this context when compared to other fields, including management (e.g., Fulmer and Gelfand 2012;Lewicki et al 2006;Mayer et al 1995;Möllering 2006;Schoorman et al 2007), economics (e.g., Ostrom 1990); political science (e.g., Hardin 2002), sociology (e.g., Barber 1983Coleman 1990;Cook 2001), and psychology (e.g., Braithwaite 1998;Tyler 1990). One exception is the work of Smith and others (2013), who divide the trust concept into dimensions of dispositional trust, trust in the federal government, shared values, and moral and technical competencies.…”