Do Self-sanctioning and Outsider Intervention Instill Trust in the Information Disclosure Process?

This study explored two questions: 1) what kind of method for instilling trust is evaluated to be important by the general public and 2) who is considered as a legitimate third party, when administrators and organizations go through an information disclosure process. We hypothesized that voluntary declaration of self-sanctions, before an issue becomes public, would be important in instilling trust as well as the intervention of outsiders. Further, we explored which groups were evaluated as acceptable third parties. In a social survey conducted in the Kanto district of Japan, 621 responses (24.8% response rate) were obtained using a two stage systematic stratified random sampling method and mail-out procedure. Results showed that declaration of self-sanctions was seen as most important in instilling trust, but with involvement of an outsider also seen as important. An analysis of possible trusted third parties showed that academics and citizens interested in the issue were considered as most appropriate 'outsiders', while politicians, governor/mayor and administrative officials were considered less appropriate. Finally, cluster analysis showed that mass media was included within the same cluster as the political group.