Seeing Is Believing: The Transitory Influence of Reputation Information on E‐Commerce Trust and Decision Making

This research examines the transitory influence of reputation information on consumer decision making regarding an e‐vendor. Using social judgment theory to explain how reputation information's effect on perceptions may be fleeting, we specifically examined how user trusting beliefs related to an e‐vendor change after a simple exposure to the Web site. A total of 369 college students participated in an experiment that found that reputation information was initially strongly related to trusting beliefs regarding the e‐vendor, but a brief nonpurchase‐related exposure to the e‐vendor's Web site—that is, direct experience—reduced reputation's effects significantly. This research provides insights into why reputation information may be more important in certain circumstances than in others and enhances our understanding of how consumer decision making is affected by different purchasing contexts. This research also has implications on the design and use of trust‐building technologies.     

The Role of Group Member Affect in the Relationship between Trust and Cooperation

It is widely acknowledged that trust greatly affects work group functioning. Whereas trust may facilitate cooperation, distrust may impede it. Insight into when distrusters may be prompted to cooperate may therefore be of importance. Empirical studies point to several moderators of the effect of trust on cooperation. Unfortunately, these studies largely ignored the potential role of group member affect. Our study shows that group members' affective displays (particularly the activation level of the displays) have a substantial impact on the relationship between trust and cooperation. First, a scenario experiment (n=80) revealed that low trusting individuals were more willing to cooperate when confronted with group members who display high (versus low) activation affective states, whereas for more high trusting individuals cooperation was not contingent on other group members' affective displays. Second, a laboratory experiment (n=78), employing a social dilemma paradigm, replicated these findings and indicated that this effect is explained by the extent to which others are expected to cooperate. The discussion focuses on theoretical implications and managerial ramifications. Our study testifies to the significant role that affect may play in keeping up cooperation in organizations and work groups when trust is withering.     

Leaders' narrative sensemaking during LMX role negotiations: Explaining how leaders make sense of who to trust and when

This investigation supplements Leader–Member Exchange (LMX) theory by explaining how leaders make sense of whether and when to trust members throughout role negotiations. This conceptualization of leaders' trust of members describes how leaders emplot members in storylines characterized as predictably good, unpredictable, or predictably bad, and catalogs the formal communication practices indicative of those predictions. Forty working adults, who have reputations for being effective leaders, were interviewed. Constant comparative analysis revealed leaders attempted to produce stories with characterological coherence about members' character development throughout role negotiations. The Leader-to-Member Narrative Sensemaking of Trust (LMNST) concept describes how participants reported trusting and doubting (often simultaneously) their members by evoking combinations of seven narrative elements (i.e., selection, probation, escalation, confederation, jeopardy, redemption, and termination). The LMNST contributes to the leadership communication literature a way of viewing leaders' discourse about members through the lens of narrative logics.     

Changing Corporate Governance in Response to Negative Media Reports

We study how organizations change their corporate governance in response to negative publicity in the media. We build on insights from the literature on interpersonal trust to theorize how organizations respond to different types of trust‐damaging information. We suggest that organizations are likely to replace key individuals involved in the corporate governance process when trust‐damaging information provides evidence of low integrity. In contrast, organizations are likely to make changes in how the governance process is organized when trust‐damaging information provides evidence of low benevolence. We test our hypotheses by using data on publicly traded Korean firms from 2006 to 2013. Our results provide general support for our argument about corporate governance changes that organizations initiate in response to different types of trust‐damaging information. We also explore how foreign ownership and state ownership moderate organizational responses to trust‐damaging information.     

Mexican and Swedish Managers' Perceptions of the Impact of EIS on Organizational Intelligence,Decision Making,and Structure*

Although information technologies in business organizations around the world may be very similar, the meanings conveyed through the technologies may be dependent on managerial values and national culture. Cultural differences need to be understood before information technology developed for organizations in one country can be effectively implemented in organizations in another country. Drawing on survey responses from managers using Executive Information Systems (EIS) across many organizations in Mexico, Sweden, and the United States, the current study examined whether cultural differences influence perceptions of the relationship between Executive Information Systems' use and various outcomes related to decision-making behaviors and processes. The study found significant differences, predicted by cultural factors, in the impact of EIS use on senior management decision making. The findings confirm the notion that IT is used by executives to reinforce the decision-making behaviors valued in their culture.     

Zugänge eröffnen,Verstehen ermöglichen

Opening approaches and understanding. Reflections about parish counselling and organizational development in the parish communityAny process of changes within a church community or parish needs counselling and organizational development. People working in institutionalized parish guidance are biased by the system, therefore parish guidance is limited in its effects. Counselling by profit organizations often fail their task. Theses organizations provoke resistance by unreflected entering of hermeneutics strange to the cultural understanding. It is necessary to get acceptance and understanding concerning motivation and values of honorary members of the parish board. On this a trusting alliance of work is based on.     

Can organizations help adjust?: The effect of perceived organizational climate on immigrants' acculturation and consequent effect on perceived fit

Acculturation, or the process of adjustment in a host culture, is a determinant of immigrants' overall success and well-being. Surprisingly, less is known about the role organizations may play in influencing immigrants' acculturation and how this process, in turn, may influence organizations. Thus, we examine how an organizational climate in the form of a diversity climate and an intercultural group climate may influence immigrants' acculturation strategies, as shown by the degree they adopt the host culture and retain their original culture. Furthermore, we explore how immigrants' adopted acculturation strategies may, in turn, influence their attitudes toward the organization in the form of person-organization fit and person-workgroup fit. Using a latent profile analysis, MANOVA, and multinomial logistic regression in a sample of 244 Mexican immigrants working in the Southwest U.S., we found that higher levels of intercultural group climate, but not diversity climate, are more likely to increase the likelihood of immigrants' embracing of acculturation strategies where the host culture is highly adopted. We also find embracing such acculturation strategies increases perceptions of fit. Our results offer two important highlights: first, to show the influence of organizational factors on an immigrant's acculturation and acculturation's workplace effects, and second, to contribute to the fit literature by showing that even when individuals may have contrasting cultural orientations, they are still able to perceive high levels of fit within their workplace.     

The Origin and Role of Trust in Local Policy Elites’ Perceptions of High‐Voltage Power Line Installations in the State of Arkansas

The debate over an installation of high‐voltage power lines (HVPLs) has been intense, particularly in northwest Arkansas. Detractors claim that the installation will negatively affect both the natural environment and the local economy, which contains a large tourism component. By contrast, those in favor of installing HVPLs claim that the installation is necessary in order to reliably support the increasing demand for electric power. Using original data collected from a recent statewide Internet survey of 420 local policy elites in Arkansas, this article focuses on two key aspects. First, we examine how local policy elites’ perceptions of risks versus benefits of HVPL installation in their communities are influenced by their levels of trust toward information provided by various sources (e.g., energy industry, environmental groups, and government). Second, we utilize cultural theory to explain how the cultural worldviews of policy elites––specifically, egalitarianism, individualism, hierarchism, and fatalism––shape these levels of trust and HVPL benefit‐risk perceptions, while controlling for other factors claimed by previous literature, including levels of knowledge on energy‐related issues and demographic characteristics. In general, our analysis indicates that policy elites’ value‐oriented formation of HVPL benefit‐risk perceptions is partially due to the influence cultural values have on trust in information sources. We conclude this article by discussing broader implications for the origin and role of trust in policy elites’ decisions throughout the policy‐making process.     

Hong Kong managers' perceptions of American business values

This report describes empirical research conducted to study the research question, “To what extent do foreign managers' own cultural values influence their perceptions of the corporate values of companies in other cultures?” Using the authors' “Business Values Questionnaire,” business managers from Hong Kong gave their perceptions of publicly stated corporate values of very large U.S. service companies. A similar United States sample was used as a comparison group. Results gave partial support to the authors' hypotheses that an individual's own cultural values influence perceived values of another culture.     

Refuting the cliché of the distrustful manager

Although trust is fundamental to social and organizational functioning, the media often portray managers as distrusting, suggesting that distrust of others is a typical personality variable of successful leaders. This study puts the cliché of the distrustful manager to the test. Both self-report data (N = 32,926) and behavioral data (N = 924) from the German Socio-Economic Panel refute this cliché. Analyses reveal that individuals in managerial positions neither show a lower level of trust before, nor a systematic reduction in trust after attaining such positions. Moreover, analyses demonstrate that managers are generally more trusting than non-managers. This selection effect implies that individuals who trust others are more successful in achieving managerial positions than their less trusting counterparts.     

Perception of learning culture and concerns about the innovation on its use: a question of level of analysis.

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between organizational members' perception of learning culture and the concerns about the innovation, and the influence of these factors on the use of one innovation (ISO 9000) in the Malaysian public sector. This study was guided by the Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM) (Hall and Hord 1987) and the dimensions of the learning organization (Watkins and Marsick 1993, 1996b). The study involved 628 people from eleven government agencies that had been using the new system for at least a year. The study provided a model for operationalizing the assertions and theories of both organizational development and learning organization scholars especially that a more adaptive learning-oriented culture would facilitate the implementation of change. The examination of learning culture facilitated the understanding of how members within the organization perceived their learning culture, and subsequently its relationship to their use of the innovation. The analysis of concerns illustrated the fit between the innovation and feelings and perceptions of the individual members about the innovation. On an individual organizational basis, the regression analyses showed that the model was able to explain the variance in use of innovation in each organization. However, a comparison of regression weights across the organizations told a very different story. The results showed that the combination of variables that explained the use of innovation varied radically from organization to organization. The findings raised questions about appropriate levels of analyses for such studies. The study suggests that theories that try to explain organizational innovation implementation be tested across organizations and take into account organizational context. Otherwise, they could lead to inaccurate conclusions.     

Forming Effective Employee Information and Consultation: A Five‐Stage Trust and Justice Process

In this paper we show how trust and justice influence the efficacy of employee information and consultation (I&C) bodies. Evidence is drawn from a 2‐year qualitative study of I&C participants in two organizations in the UK. The research builds on Dietz and Fortin's conceptual five‐stage model of the I&C process to provide a more nuanced understanding of I&C trust and justice outcomes. In particular, we point to crucial stages in the process, and how these influence the effectiveness of I&C mechanisms. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.     

Building global dynamic capabilities through innovation: A case study of Taiwan's cultural organizations

This case study analyzes global dynamic capabilities, firm specific advantages (FSAs), and the international expansion of cultural enterprises in Taiwan from the viewpoint of sustainable development. From our exploratory study, we identify six global dynamic capabilities as the driving forces behind the creation of new cultural products that revitalize a company through continuous innovation. Each global dynamic capability actually leverages the company's resources. The case study results show that technology-based FSAs help cultural organizations globalize their business and create value. There are two global expansion paths that cultural organizations can take to increase value which are discussed in our paper.     

Trust in management and knowledge sharing: The mediating effects of fear and knowledge documentation

Knowledge sharing within and between teams is of vital importance for organizations. The influence of interpersonal trust in general and trust in management in particular on knowledge sharing is evident. However, it is not clear how the relationship between interpersonal trust and knowledge sharing works. This study provides a better understanding of that relationship by demonstrating that fear of losing one's unique value and knowledge documentation have a mediating effect on the relationship between trust in management and knowledge sharing. Specifically, trust in management increases knowledge sharing through reducing fear of losing one's unique value and improving willingness to document knowledge. These findings have important implications at both a managerial and theoretical level. For managers, this paper emphasizes the individual's central role in the knowledge sharing process in terms of knowledge documentation and fear of losing one's unique value. On the theoretical level, this study provides empirical evidence for two mechanisms that help explain the effect of trust in management on knowledge sharing. In future research, this study could be extended to include other psychosocial phenomena that enable knowledge sharing in organizations.     

Managerial trust and work values within the context of international joint ventures in China

The paper reports on a study of International Joint Ventures (IJVs) in China and provides empirical evidence on how Chinese managers in IJVs, compared with their State-Owned Enterprise (SOE) counterparts, are responding to their new work environments. Changing work practices, in particular human resource management (HRM), are altering the trust dynamics between managers and their subordinates. Changed trust relations pose problems for many Chinese managers originally from SOEs but now working in IJVs. The study examines how Chinese mangers' perceptions of trust in subordinates are being influenced by the work values in IJVs. Key findings of our study suggest that for these managers, trust in subordinates is related to certain beliefs surrounding work values of centralization, formalization and group orientation.     

Test of a Trust and Confidence Model in the Applied Context of Electromagnetic Field (EMF) Risks

Trust is an important factor in risk management. There is little agreement among researchers, however, on how trust in risk management should be studied. Based on a comprehensive review of the trust literature a "dual-mode model of social trust and confidence" is proposed. Trust and confidence are separate but, under some circumstances, interacting sources of cooperation. Trust is based on value similarity, and confidence is based on performance. According to our model, judging similarity between an observer's currently active values and the values attributed to others determines social trust. Thus, the basis for trust is a judgment that the person to be trusted would act as the trusting person would. Interpretation of the other's performance influences confidence. Both social trust and confidence have an impact on people's willingness to cooperate (e.g., accept electromagnetic fields or EMF in the neighborhood). The postulated model was tested in the applied context of EMF risks. Structural equation modeling procedures and data from a random sample of 1,313 Swiss citizens between 18 and 74 years old were used. Results indicated that after minor modifications the model explained the data very well. In the applied context of EMF risks, both trust and confidence had an impact on cooperation. Results suggest that the dual-mode model of social trust and confidence could be used as a common framework in the field of trust and risk management. Practical implications of the results are discussed.     

Metaphors and Theory Building in Organization Theory: What Determines the Impact of a Metaphor on Theory?*

A long‐standing stream of organizational research suggests that our ability to theorize and reason about organizations is significantly influenced by metaphorical representations of organizations. This study contributes to this research stream by examining how different metaphors influence theory development and academic thinking about organizations. We asked scholars from UK business schools to rate different metaphors in terms of their impact on theory building. We then examined whether, and to what extent, these metaphors (after they had been selected) had helped in clarifying and advancing their understanding of organizations. The results indicate that the ability of a metaphor to advance and clarify theoretical understandings of organizations is based upon (1) the degree to which that metaphor is seen to capture multiple salient features of organizations and (2) the ease with which the metaphor is understood. We discuss the implications of these results for theorizing and research on organizations.     

Conflicting Subcultures in Mergers and Acquisitions: a Longitudinal Study of Integrating a Radical Internet Firm into a Bureaucratic Telecoms Firm

Media and telecommunications companies face the problem of how to integrate diametrically opposite radical internet firms after acquisition. Extant mergers and acquisitions (M&A) studies report that differences in the organizational culture are important in the cultural integration process. Frequently, M&A research assumes organizational cultures to be homogeneous and unified, but a large body of organizational literature suggests that organizations should be understood as heterogeneous living worlds in which employees construct their own subcultures. The paper focuses on the question of how such subcultures affect the long‐term cultural integration of merged firms. A 12‐year longitudinal field study in the Netherlands examined the integration of iPioneer into Telcom. The findings of the study show how three subcultures in iPioneer influenced the cultural integration process. The paper makes a contribution to the academic debate on cultural integration in domestic M&A by acknowledging that the numerous coexisting subcultures influence cultural integration in the complex process of post‐acquisition integration.     

What Determines Trust in Information About Food-Related Risks? Underlying Psychological Constructs

Trust in risk information about food related-hazards may be an important determinant of public reactions to risk information. One of the central questions addressed by the risk communication literature is why some individuals and organizations are trusted as sources of risk information and others are not. Industry and government often lack public trust, whereas other sources (for example, consumer organizations, the quality media, medical doctors) are highly trusted. Problematically, previous surveys and questionnaire studies have utilized questions generated by the investigators themselves to assess public perceptions of trust in different sources. Furthermore, no account of the hazard domain was made. In the first study reported here, semistructured interviewing was used to elicit underpinning constructs determining trust and distrust in different sources providing food-related risk information ( n = 35). In the second study, the repertory grid method was used to elicit the terminology that respondents use to distinguish between different potential food-related information sources ( n = 35), the data being submitted to generalised Procrustes analysis. The results of the two studies were combined and validated in survey research ( n = 888) where factor analysis indicated that knowledge in itself does not lead to trust, but that trusted sources are seen to be characterised by multiple positive attributes. Contrary to previous research, complete freedom does not lead to trust—rather sources which possess moderate accountability are seen to be the most trusted.     

Risk, Trust, and Safety Culture in U.K. Train Operating Companies

Organizational safety culture reflects the attitudes and behaviors that individuals share in considering and reacting to hazards and risks. We first argue that trust is an underdeveloped and important concept in relation to theories of safety culture and high-reliability organizations. The article then reports findings from a two-year qualitative study of train operating companies (TOCs) in the United Kingdom, which sought to explore in detail the linkages between safety culture and the postprivatized railway industry. In-depth interviews and focus groups were carried out with a sample of over 500 employees, from four organizations, and representing all key functional levels. Our analysis suggests that the 1993 privatization, and subsequent organizational restructuring of the U.K. railway industry, has had important repercussions for both safety culture and trust relationships. We explore our findings in relation to three key constructs within "safe organizations" theories (namely, flexibility, commitment, and learning), and discuss how the safe organization model might be usefully supplemented by a consideration of trust issues.