Examining the relationship between trust and culture in the consultant–client relationship

Abstract

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Trusting as a ‘Leap of Faith’: Trust-building practices in client–consultant relationships

“…While our study showed the importance of process and outcome expectations, and personal fit, others have pointed out to the relevance of shared culture (Avakian et al, 2010), or a shared habitus (Näslund, 2012) for the development of trust in client-consultant relationships.…”

“…Following previous research, consultancy work consists not merely of communicative actions but is also shaped by expectation structures which give meaning to the consultancy process and outcome (Avakian et al, 2010;Nikolova et al, 2009). Shared cognitive expectations, we argue, reduce clients' perceived vulnerability and enable the leap of faith.…”

“…Research on newly formed teams has shown that team members' behavior expectations are a reflection of their previous experience (Bettenhausen and Murnighan, 1985;Walsh and Fahey, 1986). In client-consultant teams, where team members have different experiences with teamwork and have not previously worked together, consultants are often uncertain about clients' expected working style and roles, which can lead to misalignment of activities and conflict, and can cause the destruction of trust (Avakian et al, 2010;Beard, 1999). Confirming Higgins' (2000: 23) argument that "successful role enactment requires taking into account the normative expectations and standards of others" (Higgins 2000: 23), our study shows that during interaction with clients, consultants import clients' role/process expectations.…”