Investigating the convergent validity of organizational trust

Abstract

PurposeOrganizational trust is an important construct for organizational and public relations scholars and practitioners for its influence on key organizational outcomes, yet the convergent validity of organizational trust instruments has not been investigated by any study. The purpose of this paper is to address an important gap in the literature by reporting the results of a systematic investigation of the convergent validity of three organizational trust measures, taking an interpersonal, public relations, and organizational approach to trust in organizations respectively.Design/methodology/approachIRB approval was obtained for a cross‐sectional study design gathering self‐reports from participants through an online data gathering system of a large Midwestern university in the USA. Correlational matrices, along with exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses adapting the multitrait‐multimethod matrix, were employed for data analysis.FindingsThe three trust measures demonstrate mixed evidence of convergent validity with each other and with a theoretically correlated construct, organizational identification, demonstrating that while the three measures share the same conceptual ground, there is a need to clarify their underlying theoretical specification, especially with respect to organizational identification.Research limitations/implicationsFuture large‐scale studies can extend the findings based on a student population by employing multiple and diverse data sets, as well as investigate method variance.Practical implicationsRecommendations to improve convergent validity include: increasing item parsimony to decrease redundancy; revise item construction; and improved theoretical specification investigating the conceptual boundaries organizational identification with trust.Originality/valueThe study provides empirical evidence of the need for greater conceptual and operational clarification of the theoretical bases of trust. It is the first to advance research on trust in organizations by providing empirical support for the convergent validity of organizational trust measures assessed from organizational, interpersonal, and public relations perspectives.