Trust within organisations: A cross-cultural research on the role of character perception

Abstract

Prior research has amply demonstrated that employees’ relationships with their immediate manager and their organisation influences their trust in it. In this three-country investigation, we examine how employees’ perceptions of their manager's character, and the character of senior management influences their trust in their manager and their organisation. Results draw on data from ICT organisations in Australia, Turkey and the Ukraine (n-541) and reveal that workers’ perceptions of character matter for trust in manager and trust in the organisation. Furthermore, sub-components of trust and communication with the immediate manager mediate the relationship between perceptions of character and organisational outcomes. Overall, our findings create a new avenue for trust research by advancing the idea that perceptions of character are an important antecedent of workers’ trust in management.