Toward a Configurative Approach to Team Trust

Abstract

Research on team trust continues to grow, supporting its critical role in team functioning. Yet, there remains a lack of clarity about how team trust forms in a team. In this paper, we adopt a configurative approach to understand how team trust arises from the trust relationships that team members have with one another and what form or configuration team trust can take over time. Drawing on theories and research on levels of analysis and relational balance, we develop a multilevel microdynamic model that conceptualizes team trust as a configurative emergent state of the dyadic trust relationships between members. At the dyadic level, the model describes the emergent dynamics through symmetric and asymmetric relationships between members. At the team level, the model identifies team trust configurations and their trajectories over time. At the interteam level, we further consider the top-down influences from salience of the interteam context on team trust emergence. By explicating the emergent dynamics of team trust, our model provides a nuanced and integrated understanding of trust in teams and offers a potentially powerful tool for leaders and teams to cultivate and manage team trust.