Engendering trust in manager‐subordinate relationships. Predictors and outcomes
| Published date | 01 October 2003 |
| Pages | 569-587 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/00483480310488342 |
| Date | 01 October 2003 |
| Author | Julia Connell,Natalie Ferres,Tony Travaglione |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour |
Engendering trust in
manager-subordinate
relationships
Predictors and outcomes
Julia Connell and Natalie Ferres
Newcastle Graduate School of Business, University of Newcastle,
Newcastle, Australia, and
Tony Travaglione
Adelaide Graduate School of Business, University of Adelaide,
Adelaide, Australia
Keywords Trust, Managers, Subordinates, Forecasting, Australia
Abstract The recent growth in the trust literature indicates that both researchers and
practitioners are continuing to recognise its importance as a factor for determining organisational
success and the well-being of employees. Trust is, however, a complex, multidimensional construct
that has generated much debate concerning how trusting relationships might be created. The aim
of this paper is to add to current debates by reporting on a study concerning trust within
manager-subordinate relationships within a large Australian organisation. The annual staff
survey for this organisation indicated that levels of trust in managers were very low, leading the
authors to investigate the predictors and outcomes of this situation. Focus group and survey
questionnaire results led to the finding that perceived organisational support, procedural justice
and transformational leadership were significant predictors of trust in managers and that
turnover intent and commitment were significant outcomes. The implications of these findings for
researchers and practitioners are discussed.
This paper reports on a study that was undertaken in order to discover which
factors caused employees within a large Australian public health sector
organisation to experience trust in their managers. Findings from an employee
survey that was undertaken in the year 2000 indicated that trust in managers
was very low. Although it may be unreasonable to expect that any organisation
can enjoy complete trust among its workforce, this paper argues that the
presence of certain characteristics may result in higher levels of trust, even
within the context of organisational constraints. In this case, these
characteristics involved perceived organisational support (POS),
transformational leadership and procedural justice. The results of this study
encouraged the health authority’s senior management to consider interventions
that would promote these factors where possible. In general, human resource
(HR) policies and practices are frequently on the front-line of any change
initiative. Therefore, the findings from this paper suggest that one of the
challenges for HR policy-makers and practitioners lies in assisting with the
The Emerald Research Register for this journal is available at The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/researchregister http://www.emeraldinsight.com/0048-3486.htm
Engendering
trust
569
Personnel Review
Vol. 32 No. 5, 2003
pp. 569-587
qMCB UP Limited
0048-3486
DOI 10.1108/00483480310488342
creation of an organisational environment where trust in manager-subordinate
relationships is engendered, particularly where existing levels of trust are low.
First, literature concerning various definitions, measures and the relevance
of trust in manager-subordinate relationships is discussed. Next, a framework
for analysis is introduced and the research method outlined, before the survey
findings, conclusions and implications are identified.
Definitions and measures of trust
The degree to which trust exists can determine much of an organisation’s
character, influencing factors such as organi sational structure, control
mechanisms, job design, communication, job satisfaction, commitment and
organisational citizenship behaviour (Zeffane and Connell, 2003). Currently,
environmental and competitive pressures are pushing organisations towards
flat, team-oriented structures where employees perform multidimensional work
with the autonomy to make decisions. Such arrangements require trust
between employees and their managers in order to be successful (Whitener
et al., 1998). As a result, the influence of trust in organisational settings has
attracted increasing interest in recent years (Clark and Payne, 1997; Kramer
and Tyler, 1996; Hosmer, 1995; Mayer and Davis, 1999; Mayer et al., 1995),
indicating that researchers and practitioners continue to recognise trust as an
important factor in determining organisational success, organisational stability
and the well-being of employees (Cook and Wall, 1980; Shaw, 1997; Tyler and
Kramer, 1996).
The growth of literature on trust has generated much debate and divergent
opinion focusing on what trust is, what it is not, and how trusting relationships
might be created. Trust is a multi-component construct with sever al
dimensions that vary in nature and importance according to the context,
relationship, tasks, situations and people concerned (Hardy and McGrath,
1989). Although there is no ubiquitous definition of trust, a frequently cited
conceptualisation emphasises interpersonal relationships and a “willingness to
be vulnerable” (Mayer et al., 1995) based on the conviction that the latter party
is competent, concerned and reliable. Thus, when trust declines, a reversal
occurs and people become reluctant to take risks, demanding greater
protections against the possibility of betrayal “and increasingly insist on costly
sanctioning mechanisms to defend their interests” (Tyler and Kramer, 1996,
p. 4).
The limited uniformity in the interpretation, comparability and evaluation of
trust research may stem from the use of various trust measures, all focusing on
contrasting aspects of the trust construct. Measures of trust within
organisations may centre on disposition to trust, interpersonal trust or
situational trust (Clark and Payne, 1997). Dispositional trust is concerned with
an individual’s inclination to trust others within the work environment. Trust
as a dispositional personality trait is concerned with an individual’s inclination
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