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What We Know and What We Do Not Know about Trust in Work Teams: A Systematic Literature Review

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  • Catalina Diana Dumitru
  • Alexandra Mittelstadt

Abstract

Trust in work teams is a growing field of research. Numerous studies research trust in work teams in connection to team effectiveness and team performance. But this substantial amount of work lacks continuity and systematization in terms of conceptualization and operationalization. With this research project we take stock of the knowledge from previous studies and carry out a systematic review of the literature on trust in work teams. We analyze a total of 64 papers addressing trust in work teams, published between 1999 and 2019 (inclusive). In our review we focus on how trust in teams has been conceptualized and operationalized, how trust develops and is maintained in work teams, and on the tangled relationships between trust, distrust, and control. With this paper we contribute to the field of management and organizational studies by offering a theoretical framework of the antecedents of trust in work teams and by identifying current research gaps and future research directions.

Suggested Citation

  • Catalina Diana Dumitru & Alexandra Mittelstadt, 2020. "What We Know and What We Do Not Know about Trust in Work Teams: A Systematic Literature Review," European Journal of Business and Management Research, European Open Science, vol. 5(3), May.
    • Handle: RePEc:epw:ejbmr0:v:5:y:2020:i:3:id:50303
    DOI: 10.24018/ejbmr.2020.5.3.303
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Samuele Centorrino & Elodie Djemaï & Astrid Hopfensitz & Manfred Milinski & Paul Seabright, 2015. "Honest signalling in trust interactions: smiles rated as genuine induce trust and signal higher earnings opportunities," Post-Print hal-01518371, HAL.
    2. Paul Benjamin Lowry & Ryan M. Schuetzler & Justin Scott Giboney & Thomas A. Gregory, 2015. "Is Trust Always Better than Distrust? The Potential Value of Distrust in Newer Virtual Teams Engaged in Short-Term Decision-Making," Group Decision and Negotiation, Springer, vol. 24(4), pages 723-752, July.
    3. Sirkka L. Jarvenpaa & Dorothy E. Leidner, 1999. "Communication and Trust in Global Virtual Teams," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 10(6), pages 791-815, December.
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    5. Sirkka L. Jarvenpaa & Thomas R. Shaw & D. Sandy Staples, 2004. "Toward Contextualized Theories of Trust: The Role of Trust in Global Virtual Teams," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 15(3), pages 250-267, September.
    6. repec:dau:papers:123456789/13933 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Ford, Robert C. & Piccolo, Ronald F. & Ford, Loren R., 2017. "Strategies for building effective virtual teams: Trust is key," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 60(1), pages 25-34.
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