Digital Transformation and Trust (Dis)intermediation – Coleman’s Models Thirty Years On

Abstract

Focusing on digital technology resources carries the danger that socio-material interaction will be ignored. There is already a tendency to make overly simplistic assumptions in digital innovation research, neglecting the complexity of socio-material interaction. This article examines one kind of social interaction, namely trust intermediation, comparing the trust intermediation models developed by James S. Coleman with new kinds of trust intermediation and disintermediation originated by digital innovation. Intermediaries in trust play a crucial role in overcoming mistrust and initiating cooperation by contributing to a reduction in information asymmetry and free-riding temptation, whilst providing reputational information supporting new trust relationships. As conditions can vary with different types of trust intermediation, differentiation becomes necessary, an issue which is often unappreciated in trust literature. As assumed in Coleman’s examples, intermediaries are traditionally taken to be human; yet digital innovation and transformation have led to new trust intermediation possibilities, which are nowadays becoming increasingly significant. This article assigns these new kinds of trust intermediation to Coleman’s basic trust intermediation types, reveals their regular use and identifies the changes already in existence. Trust disintermediation by blockchain technology is finally being discussed against this background.