Trust Within the Workplace: A Review of Two Waves of Research and a Glimpse of the Third

Abstract

Over the past quarter century, trust has emerged as a core concept in organizational psychology and organizational behavior. We review the body of research amassed over that period using a field evolutionary lens and identify two “waves” that have shaped and progressed the field in specific and important ways: Wave 1, establishing foundational building blocks; Wave 2, questioning assumptions and examining alternatives. For each wave, we identify what has been learned and identify key questions that still need to be addressed. We also suggest researchers will need to evolve the fundamental questions asked in order to maintain the momentum of the literature into the next quarter century, and we speculate about what these might look like. Finally, as a result of recent organizational developments and societal disruptions, we anticipate the emergence of a third wave, aimed at examining their implications for trust in the workplace.