Decentralized Autonomous Organizations and Trust: Approach to Trust in DAO in the Context of Existing Trust Theory

Abstract

We are witnessing how numerous trends, including decentralization and the growing role of technology, permeate the way companies are organized, intersecting with the phenomenon of Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAO). This technologybased organization carries a pattern known as a zero-trust policy, aiming to eliminate the need for trust in an organization. It appears to oppose the existing research on trust in management and its usefulness to organizations. That brings the question of whether DAOs represent a change from a trend defined by a standard trust theory. This conceptual paper answers by looking at the Decentralized Autonomous Organizations phenomenon through the existing knowledge on trust, specifically through Dirks & Ferrin's trust theory, and compares the concept with the traditional organization. The investigation suggests that DAOs only partially eliminate or transform the need for trust compared to traditional organizations;the need for trust is still present and may even grow in future concept development.