The Nature of Trust: From Georg Simmel to a Theory of Expectation, Interpretation and Suspension

This article undertakes a substantial theoretical reorientation of research into the concept of trust. Analysing key passages in the work of Georg Simmel, it is argued that the link between trust bases and a trustful state of expectation is much weaker than is commonly assumed. In particular, Simmel recognises a `further element', a kind of faith, that is required to explain trust and its unique nature. His work has influenced key authors in the field such as Luhmann and Giddens, but the `further element' that concerns the crucial, proverbial leap of trust is still underdeveloped. Hence, the article proceeds to conceptualise trust as a mental process of three elements that further research should embrace: expectation, interpretation and suspension. Expectation is the state (outcome) at the end of the process. It is preceded by the combination of interpretation and suspension. The former concerns the experiencing of reality that provides `good reasons'. It is recognised that current trust research already ...

[1]  Daniel J. McAllister.  Affect- and Cognition-Based Trust as Foundations for Interpersonal Cooperation in Organizations , 1995 .

[2]  Judith Mehta,et al.  Contracts, Opportunism and Trust: Self-Interest and Social Orientation , 1997 .

[3]  R. Burt,et al.  Trust and third-party gossip. , 1996 .

[4]  John E. Chisholm,et al.  Solomonic Judgements: Studies in the Limitations of Rationality , 1988 .

[5]  M. Hollis.  Trust Within Reason , 1998 .

[6]  M. Alvesson.  Beyond Neopositivists, Romantics, and Localists: A Reflexive Approach to Interviews in Organizational Research , 2003 .

[7]  J. Coleman.  Foundations of Social Theory , 1990 .

[8]  A. Seligman.  The Problem of Trust , 2021 .

[9]  P. Blau.  Exchange and Power in Social Life , 1964 .

[10]  Mark S. Granovetter.  Economic Action and Social Structure: The Problem of Embeddedness , 1985, American Journal of Sociology.

[11]  O. Williamson.  Calculativeness, Trust, and Economic Organization , 1993, The Journal of Law and Economics.

[12]  A. Giddens.  The Constitution of Society , 1985 .

[13]  J. Coleman,et al.  Social Capital in the Creation of Human Capital , 1988, American Journal of Sociology.

[14]  P. Sztompka.  Trust: A Sociological Theory , 2000 .

[15]  A. Giddens.  The consequences of modernity , 1990 .

[16]  J. Lewis,et al.  Trust as a Social Reality , 1985 .

[17]  R. Lewicki,et al.  Trust And Distrust: New Relationships and Realities , 1998 .

[18]  Reinhard Bachmann,et al.  Trust - Conceptual Aspects of a Complex Phenomenon , 1998 .

[19]  Roderick M. Kramer,et al.  Swift trust and temporary groups. , 1996 .

[20]  E. Shils.  The Constitution Of Society , 1982 .

[21]  L. L. Cummings,et al.  The Organizational Trust Inventory (OTI): Development and validation. , 1996 .

[22]  B. Misztal.  Trust in Modern Societies: The Search for the Bases of Social Order , 1996 .

[23]  R. Lewicki,et al.  Developing and Maintaining Trust in Work Relationships , 1996 .

[24]  Mari Sako,et al.  Price, Quality and Trust: Inter-firm Relations in Britain and Japan , 1992 .

[25]  Gregory A. Bigley,et al.  Straining for Shared Meaning in Organization Science: Problems of Trust and Distrust , 1998 .

[26]  R. Bachmann.  Trust, Power and Control in Trans-Organizational Relations , 2001 .

[27]  E. Goffman.  Behavior in public places : notes on the social organization of gatherings , 1964 .

[28]  Alan Fox,et al.  Beyond Contract: Work, Power and Trust Relations , 1975 .

[29]  L. Zucker.  Production of trust: Institutional sources of economic structure, 1840–1920. , 1986 .

[30]  D. Good,et al.  Individuals, Interpersonal Relations, and Trust , 2000 .

[31]  F. Fukuyama.  Trust: The Social Virtues and the Creation of Prosperity Penguin London , 1995 .

[32]  E. Erikson,et al.  Childhood and Society , 1951 .

[33]  D. H. Mills.  The Logic and Limits of Trust , 1983 .

[34]  W. Galston.  Trust: The Social Virtues and the Creation of Prosperity , 1996 .

[35]  R. Putnam.  Bowling Alone: America's Declining Social Capital , 1995, The City Reader.

[36]  M. Sako,et al.  Prices, Quality and Trust: Inter-Firm Relations in Britain and Japan. , 1994 .

[37]  R. Kramer,et al.  Trust in Organizations: Frontiers of Theory and Research , 1995 .

[38]  G. Simmel.  Philosophie des Geldes , 1933 .

[39]  Money: Two Philosophies , 1978 .

[40]  G. Simmel.  The sociology of Georg Simmel , 1950 .