Managing trust in public organisationsConcepts and contradictions

Researcher: Peter OomselsPromotor: Prof. Dr. Geert Bouckaert

This presentation

1. Trust research and public administration2. Objectives of our research3. Dimensions and logics of ‘administrational trust’4. Integration: a consolidated conceptual matrix5. Discussing contradictions: towards a theoretical model6. Conclusion: lessons for trust research7. Contact

1. Trust research and public administration• Surge in trust literature in the 1990’s and 2000’s.

– But largely decoupled and dispersed: a “conceptual morass”– Political science, economics, sociology, psychology

• Trust and public administration

• Central topic in Public Administration reform discourse– But not a central topic in Public Administration research

• Research in some journals– Mainly citizen trust in administration– Trust between organisations sometimes considered as a

variable in some research on governance and coordination.

1. Trust research and public administration

Trust in title   RelevanceSocial sciences 8.506  Public administration (general) 320  Public Money Management 19 Trust funds and organisational trustPublic Administration review 18 Mainly citizen trust in governmentIRAS 15 Mainly citizen trust in governmentAdministration and Society 12 Both citizen trust in government and

organisational trustJournal of Social Policy 12 Mainly citizen trust in governmentLocal government studies 8 Trust between organisations, political trustJPART 7 Trust between organisations, citizen trust in

government

2. Objectives of our research

• Specific focus on “administrational” trust: trust of administrations

• Research question:How can trust play a role for public management?– How can we describe, map and assess administrational trust? – How does administrational trust interact with structures and

processes of governance? – How can we manage administrational trust?

2. Objectives of our research

• Specific focus on “administrational” trust: trust of administrations

• Research question:How can trust play a role for public management?– How can we describe, map and assess administrational trust? – How does administrational trust interact with structures and

processes of governance? – How can we manage administrational trust?

This paper

3. Dimensions and logics of administrational trust• Trust often operationalised as

– Expectation of trustworthiness: assessment of performance– Willingness to be vulnerable to other’s actions: passive trust

attitude– Cooperative behaviour: active trust behaviour

• But rarely used in combination in research:• Administrational trust:

– A ‘social fact’ characterised by organisational behaviour in a transaction, inspired by a willingness to accept vulnerability based upon positive expectations of an actor in the face of risk and uncertainty

3. Dimensions and logics of administrational trust• Three perspectives on the essential logic of trust

(Rousseau et al, 1998)– Calculus-based: Trust is a rational choice (f.i. Hardin 2002)– Relation-based: Trust goes beyond rationality (f.i. Brathwaite

and Levi 1998; Luhmann 1979, 1988)– Institution-based: “depersonalised” (f.i. Bachmann 2011,

Luhmann 1979, Cook 2005)

4. Integration: a consolidated conceptual matrix

  Theoretical logics of trustInstitutional Calculus Relational

Operational dimensions of

trust

Performance Lambda Sigma ThetaAssessment

(Trustworthiness)Compliance

 Ability Integrity and 

benevolence

Attitude(‘Passive trust’)

 

Institution based

Calculus based Relation based

Behaviour(‘Active trust’)

 

Hierarchy-inspired

Market-inspired

Network-inspired

5. Discussing contradictions: towards a theoretical model• Logic of consequences or appropriateness? • Transformative but not deterministic: time + institutions• The eye of the beholder? Performance, trustworthiness

and trust• Results or processes?• Problems of causality Different implications for research and management of trust

6. Conclusion: lessons for trust research• Theoretical framework:

– Multidimensional and transformative framework – starting from action-centered institutionalist perspective – as starting point of analysis of administrational trust – to provide practically relevant insights for using trust as an

instrument for public sector governance – and overcome contradictions that appear in reform discourse.

• Research approach: Multi-method approach in order to examine causal mechanisms– Quantitative mapping: find relationships– Qualitative cases: examine causality

7. Contact

Peter OomselsPeter.oomsels@soc.kuleuven.be

Public Management InstituteKU Leuven

Funded by: Steunpunt Bestuurlijke Organisatie Vlaanderen