Do my staff trust me?

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of organizational structure on the degree to which supervisors are perceived to be trustworthy by their subordinates. The manner in which subordinates’ personality traits interact with and moderate these relationships is also examined. Design/methodology/approach – A three-part survey was completed by 137 full-time workers from various industries. Findings – Formalization was positively related to subordinates’ perceptions of their supervisors’ trustworthiness and more strongly for subordinates who ranked higher on straightforwardness. Routinization was also positively related but only for subordinates who ranked low on excitement-seeking. Centralization in the form of hierarchy of authority was negatively related and more strongly for subordinates who ranked higher on competence. Routinization for subordinates who ranked high on excitement-seeking, centralization in the form of participation in decision-making, and span of control were not related. Practical implications – Before pursuing trust-building efforts, supervisors should consider whether and in what way they may already be perceived to be trustworthy by their subordinates based on the structure of their organization and the personality traits of their subordinates. Originality/value – This study is the first to examine the main effects of organizational structure on subordinates’ perceptions of their supervisors’ trustworthiness.