Social Trust Research Articles

The longitudinal link between institutional and community trust in a local context - findings from a Swedish panel study

ABSTRACT Decades of social science stress the vital role of trust in a robust democracy, and scholars have explored the origins of trust, highlighting the dynamic interaction between institutional trust and generalised social trust. While the literature exhibits uncertainties regarding the causal direction between these various forms of trust, it generally suggests that trust in institutions spills over to trust in people in general. This article examines a neglected aspect of trust studies – the relationship between local institutional trust and community trust. Drawing on a two-wave panel study from Sweden, the results indicate bidirectional relationships between the two forms of trust over time. In so doing, this study contributes to the prior research by showing that in a local context, where daily interactions take place between community members and representatives of local institutions, the relationship between trust in neighbours and trust in local institutions appears to be more complex and interdependent.

The need for social equality from emerging patterns in business and costs towards environmental sustainability in a new paradigm shift

This investigation is based on a quantitative method and approach from inferential statistics. This study addresses urgent need for social equality and the desire for a sustainable business environment following emerging realities, climatic changes, and environmental issues based on a framework built on corporate social responsibility (CSR). The primary data were acquired from respondents via questionnaire administration and interviews from a random poll performed in Rome. The results of the hypothesis connecting brand image and social responsibility showed a high value of p = 1.000, exceeding the set critical limit of 0.05; thus, companies and organizations that support socially responsible practices are drivers and vanguards for promoting and entrenching social equality, trust, and mutual engagements with the stakeholders and societies from which they draw resources for their activities.Finally, relevant and novel models have been presented that unravel and unveil the templates and working frame for achieving social equality and sustainability while addressing environmental issues associated with business activities, emphasizing value -based creation, social equality, and sustainable marketing on a precept and foundational framework of social responsibility and corporate identity, or ‘CSR’. This led to key recommendations crucial to the business environment, policymakers, stakeholders, and decision-makers in politics.

Research Trends in Public Libraries as Public Spheres in Library and Information Science: Topic Modelling with Latent Dirichlet Allocation

Abstract Public libraries and public spheres have been widely studied over the past three decades. In recent years, several studies have comprehensively reviewed past research results to reveal the main issues, concerns, and research topics in the field of public libraries and public spheres. These studies have elucidated that the research theme of public libraries as a ‘meeting place’ has received increasing attention. They also noted the need for quantitative approaches in this field. Addressing this requirement, we conducted quantitative topic modelling using latent Dirichlet allocation and established an overview of research topics in the literature related to public libraries as public spheres. The following four periods emerged: first period (1993–2003), second period (2004–2010), third period (2011–2015), and fourth period (2016–2022). By analysing a cross-section of research topics from all periods, we elucidated the transitions of research themes developed in the research field. In addition, our comparison of topic model maps and topics over the years revealed that research topics appear to have become increasingly complex. Research topics on meeting places in public libraries have emerged continually and changed over time, covering (1) places for individual civic group activities, (2) public spaces where patrons face diversity and pluralism, (3) community spaces where patrons foster social trust, and (4) social spaces where patrons build social capital in the community. This result indicates that the research on public libraries as public spheres has gradually developed based on these venues being meeting places and will continue to progress.

Media coverage, social trust and corporate financing efficiency

The increasing influence of media coverage on corporate financial outcomes has become a critical area of study; however, the intricate relationships among media reporting, social trust, and corporate financing efficiency remain underexplored. This study examines how different types of media coverage impact corporate financing efficiency, while considering the moderating role of social trust. We employ two-way fixed-effects and moderating effects models to analyze these relationships using data from A-share listed companies in China from 2004 to 2022. The findings reveal that positive and neutral media coverage significantly enhances corporate financing efficiency, with positive coverage exhibiting a stronger effect. In contrast, negative media coverage substantially diminishes financing efficiency. Notably, social trust amplifies the impact of all types of media coverage, intensifying both positive and negative effects. We also find that state-owned enterprises are more sensitive to media coverage than non-state-owned counterparts. These results contribute to the understanding of information dissemination in financial markets and highlight the importance of social context in shaping corporate financial outcomes. Our study offers valuable insights for developing corporate communication strategies and targeted policymaking, emphasizing the need for proactive media management and consideration of social trust in financial environments. Future research could explore these dynamics in diverse cultural and economic settings to further elucidate the complex interplay between media, social trust, and corporate finance.

Are Cities Decisive for Life Satisfaction? A Structural Equation Model for the European Population

The growth of cities is an unstoppable phenomenon that began in the last century and will undoubtedly be one of the challenges of the current century. It is not only a question of urbanization; its implications and consequences extend to the economy, society, culture and the environment. The capacity of cities as engines of change and progress cannot be questioned, and its consequences will alter the lives of their citizens, who will search, in a more liquid world, for the best places to live. Therefore, this study aims to examine the influence of perception of urban quality (PUQ) and social trust and security (STS) on the life satisfaction (LS) of European citizens to find out if these variables are essential for the population living in Europe. The data were selected from the European Urban Audit survey, which covers 40,597 people living in 80 European cities. The analysis in this study is carried out at the city level. The partial least squares structural equation modelling approach was applied to verify the hypotheses. The findings reveal a positive correlation between PUQ and STS with LS, with STS being a mediator between PUQ and LS. These results underline that improving the perception of the urban environment can significantly increase well-being, contributing more than 70% to citizens' life satisfaction. This multidisciplinary analysis highlights the importance of considering various urban dimensions in planning and public policies to foster prosperous and satisfactory urban development.

How does urban industrial structure upgrading affect green productivity? The moderating role of smart city development

The concept of the smart city, which has recently gained prominence as a new urbanization model, represents a practical approach to achieving a balance between economic development and environmental protection. This article analyzes the effect of upgrading urban industrial structures on green total factor productivity (GTFP) and addresses a gap in evaluating the mediating role of smart city development. Utilizing panel data from Chinese prefecture-level cities, the study finds that internal advancements and diversification in industrial structures significantly enhance GTFP, while industrial structure rationalization displays a complex, non-linear correlation with GTFP. Moreover, smart city development is found to positively moderate the relationship between industrial structure and productivity, particularly in terms of outer-advancement, diversification, and rationalization. The moderating effect is evident in green technical efficiency rather than green technological innovation. Cluster analysis reveals significant effects in regions characterized by irrational, diversified, and naturally rational industrial structures. Additionally, the study identifies five impact mechanisms facilitated by smart cities, namely ICT, finance development, digitalization, smart governance, and social trust. These conclusions are of material significance to promote high-quality urban development.

The Impact and Mechanism of ESG Performance on Corporate Continuous Innovation: Evidence from China

In recent years, investing based on ESG performance has become a mainstream investment strategy in the market. In this context, this study selected A-share listed companies from 2010 to 2022 as samples and adopted a panel fixed-effect model to empirically test the impact and mechanism of ESG performance on continuous innovation. The research showed that ESG performance could significantly promote corporate continuous innovation. The mechanism tests found it worked mainly through the channels of alleviating financing constraints, increasing social trust, reducing agency costs, focusing on human capital, and enhancing social capital. Heterogeneity tests found that this effect was more significant for state-owned enterprises, weak marketization, and epidemic shocks. Further research showed that ESG exhibited a more significant level of sustained innovation in the growth and maturity stages. And ESG performance had a significant contribution to corporate innovation resilience. The conclusions of this study enrich the research in the field of ESG performance and corporate continuous innovation and provide empirical evidence for strengthening sustainable development strategies.

사회신뢰가 갈등인식에 미치는 영향요인에 관한 연구 - 세대 간 갈등을 중심으로

This study empirically analyzes the factors affecting perceptions of intergenerational conflict. For the empirical analysis, independent variables include economic factors, social factors, political factors, and organizational conflict factors, with social trust used as a mediating variable. To test the hypotheses, a survey was distributed to adults aged 19 and over residing in Jeju Island, and 500 completed surveys were collected for empirical analysis. The empirical analysis revealed that economic factors and political factors significantly influence the mediating variable of social trust. This indicates that a higher positive perception of economic and political factors leads to increased social trust within society. Additionally, as positive perceptions of social trust increase, perceptions of intergenerational conflict decrease. Based on the empirical analysis, addressing economic factors is crucial for reducing perceptions of intergenerational conflict and resolving generational tensions. It is important to expand economic support for the younger generation and diversify youth support policies to provide various benefits. While many local governments have established youth centers offering counseling and support related to housing, employment, and living conditions, insufficient promotion means that many young people are unaware of these services. Therefore, enhancing the promotion of youth support policies is also necessary. Additionally, given the intensifying ideological and political conflicts, political parties and organizations should work towards mutual respect and coexistence.

Norwegian consumers’ willingness to try food made from insects: The role of trust, food choice motives and OCEAN personality traits

Entomophagy, the consumption of insects, may reduce the negative health and environmental impacts of meat. As one of the novel protein alternatives expected to replace conventional meat consumption, its success will depend on consumer acceptance. To investigate the consumer acceptance of entomophagy, three rounds of a Norwegian survey with 8633 useable responses conducted in 2019/2020, 2021/2022, and 2023/2024 were used. Generalized structural equation modelling was used to test the developed hypotheses. The direct effects of trust, food choice motives, and OCEAN personality traits were investigated. The mediating effects of food safety concerns on the relationship between trust and willingness to try (WTT) food made from insects were also investigated. Social trust and trust in food authorities were positively associated with WTT. No association was found for trust in retailers. Negative associations were found between the effects of social trust and trust in food authorities on food safety concerns, and food safety concern was also a significant mediator. Respondents who emphasized environmental friendliness, health, and novelty were more willing to try, and those who emphasized natural ingredients and familiarity were less willing. Openness was positively associated with WTT, while conscientiousness, extraversion, and agreeableness had a negative association. Gender, education, age and urban living were also found as significant moderators in some paths. The findings of the study imply the need to foster trust among consumers and to emphasize the environmental and health benefits of entomophagy while focusing on increasing consumer familiarity and use of natural ingredients. Personality-focused marketing strategies may also be implored to target consumers high in openness and low in conscientiousness, extraversion, and agreeableness.

Collaborative Strategies for Enhancing Child Protection Practices in Pre-Primary Schools: A Case Study of Kira Municipality, Uganda

Child protection practices are measures and interventions intended to safeguard children against violence in school. These practices create safe environments that enable children to thrive. Some of these include the prevention of child abuse and neglect. Child protection agencies’ collaboration is a partnership that supports children’s well-being. This study investigated the contribution of child protection agencies’ collaboration on protection practices in Pre-primary schools in Kira Municipality, which has continued to be challenging. This study was informed by the social capital theory emphasizing the significance of social relationships, trust, and mutuality. The study used a descriptive cross-sectional survey design, and data was collected using quantitative and qualitative tools. These included document analysis checklists, interview guides, observation checklists, and questionnaires. The respondents included headteachers, Centre Management Committee members, parents, Local Council members, and Probation officers. The results indicated that schools rarely collaborated with child protection agencies to ensure that protection practices were implemented in pre-primary schools. In contrast, the probation officers reported that the schools didn’t involve them during the planning, though it was when they would know the areas for collaboration. Four significant recommendations for improving child protection practices are given. Child protection workers need to jointly develop plans that promote child safety and protection, train and build the capacity of educators on issues of child protection, increase resources and financial support to promote child safety and protection, and finally, advocate for laws and policies that promote children’s rights.

Collaborative Strategies for Enhancing Child Protection Practices in Pre-Primary Schools: A Case Study of Kira Municipality, Uganda

Child protection practices are measures and interventions intended to safeguard children against violence in school. These practices create safe environments that enable children to thrive. Some of these include the prevention of child abuse and neglect. Child protection agencies’ collaboration is a partnership that supports children’s well-being. This study investigated the contribution of child protection agencies’ collaboration on protection practices in Pre-primary schools in Kira Municipality, which has continued to be challenging. This study was informed by the social capital theory emphasizing the significance of social relationships, trust, and mutuality. The study used a descriptive cross-sectional survey design, and data was collected using quantitative and qualitative tools. These included document analysis checklists, interview guides, observation checklists, and questionnaires. The respondents included headteachers, Centre Management Committee members, parents, Local Council members, and Probation officers. The results indicated that schools rarely collaborated with child protection agencies to ensure that protection practices were implemented in pre-primary schools. In contrast, the probation officers reported that the schools didn’t involve them during the planning, though it was when they would know the areas for collaboration. Four significant recommendations for improving child protection practices are given. Child protection workers need to jointly develop plans that promote child safety and protection, train and build the capacity of educators on issues of child protection, increase resources and financial support to promote child safety and protection, and finally, advocate for laws and policies that promote children’s rights.

Distinguishing social virtual reality: Comparing communication channels across perceived social affordances, privacy, and trust

Social virtual reality (SVR) attempts to allow for connections akin to face-to-face communication (Ftf). Yet, it is unclear whether the technology successfully mimics Ftf or more closely resembles other mediated communication channels. This study empirically compares SVR and other communication channels in terms of perceived social affordances, privacy, and trust through a between-subjects online survey (n = 743). Findings indicate that SVR and Ftf are similar regarding some perceived affordances (e.g., personalization) but differ with respect to others (e.g., anonymity, presence). Additionally, SVR is perceived as significantly distinct from one or multiple mediated channels for almost every measured social affordance. While SVR is seen as offering relatively greater levels of affordances that benefit interpersonal interaction, privacy concerns and a lack of trust in other users were found to often characterize the current user experience. This study provides theoretical insights for affordance research and practical implications for SVR designers.

Effects of Government Public Relations on Citizen Trust and Engagement in Sudan

Purpose: The aim of the study was to assess the effects of government public relations on citizen trust and engagement in Sudan. Materials and Methods: This study adopted a desk methodology. A desk study research design is commonly known as secondary data collection. This is basically collecting data from existing resources preferably because of its low cost advantage as compared to a field research. Our current study looked into already published studies and reports as the data was easily accessed through online journals and libraries. Findings: The study indicated that effective public relations strategies can enhance transparency, accountability, and open communication, fostering a sense of trust among citizens. When governments actively engage in clear and honest communication, they address citizens' concerns, clarify policies, and provide timely updates on public affairs. This transparency helps mitigate misinformation and builds credibility, leading to increased citizen trust. Furthermore, well-executed public relations efforts can stimulate civic engagement by encouraging public participation in decision-making processes, promoting community involvement, and fostering a collaborative environment between the government and its citizens. Studies indicate that when citizens perceive their government as trustworthy and responsive, they are more likely to engage in civic activities, support governmental initiatives, and participate in democratic processes, thereby strengthening the overall relationship between the government and its citizens. Implications to Theory, Practice and Policy: Grunig's excellence theory, social exchange theory and institutional trust theory may be used to anchor future studies on assessing the effects of government public relations on citizen trust and engagement in Sudan. For effective practice, government agencies must prioritize transparency and proactive communication strategies to build trust with citizens. On the policy front, governments should formalize frameworks that mandate transparency and accountability in public relations practices.

Social trust and COVID-19 mortality in the United States: lessons in planning for future pandemics using data from the general social survey

BackgroundThe United States has lost many lives to COVID-19. The role of social capital and collective action has been previously explored in the context of COVID-19. The current study specifically investigates the role of social trust at the county level and COVID-19 mortality in the US, hypothesizing that counties with higher social trust will have lower COVID-19 mortality rates.MethodsWe used cross-sectional data from the General Social Survey (GSS). We collected COVID-19 mortality data from the COVID-19 Dashboard by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University until October 31, 2021. We obtained county characteristics from the 2019 American Community Survey and supplemented this data source with additional publicly available county-level data, such as measures of income inequality and political leanings. We measured social trust as a single item from the GSS and calculated mean social trust in a county by pooling responses from 2002 to 2018. We then modeled the relationship between mean social trust and COVID-19 mortality.ResultsResults indicate that counties with higher social trust have lower COVID-19 mortality rates. Higher values of mean social trust at the county level are associated with a decrease in COVID-19 mortality (b= -0.25, p-value < 0.001), after adjustment for confounding. The direction of association is consistent in a sensitivity analysis.ConclusionsOur findings underscore the importance of investment in social capital and social trust. We believe these findings can be applied beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, as they demonstrate the potential for social trust as a method for emergency preparedness.

Sports following and social capital in the United States: Social networks and trust

Scholarship on sports following represents a burgeoning field of inquiry in the sociology of sport, yet sport following's connections to, or ability to facilitate, social capital remains underexplored. Drawing on a contemporary nationwide survey of the United States and employing the foundational theories of social capital by which we operationalize statistical analyses using regression modeling, this study investigates the nuanced contributions of sports following to various dimensions of social capital. Our analysis reveals complex relationships of sports following to social network size, community engagement, neighborhood trust, and social network variety, highlighting sports following as a significant predictor for all our operationalized social capital measures, although negatively so for neighborhood trust. Exploring the interplay between sports following, individual characteristics, and socio-political affiliations, results underscore the powerful predictive capacity of sports following even controlling for other characteristics, highlighting strong potentiality for building social capital, although along some dimensions more than others. These findings spotlight the domain of sports following as fertile ground for further investigation into its capacity to serve as a unique facilitator of social capital on the increasingly divided American socio-cultural landscape.

The Influence of Corporate Social Responsibility and Customer Retention on Customer Relationship Management Performance with the Mediating Effect of Customer Trust in SMEs of Ningxia Province, China

In recent years, e-commerce has experienced rapid expansion and developed as the mainstream business practice in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in developing areas of China. There are a variety of channels for consumers to purchase from. Therefore, maintaining customers is increasingly important. In the meantime, companies expect to gain more significant insights into their consumers’ demands to earn customer trust, thus achieving customer relationship management (CRM) performance. This study develops based on trust theory and consists of four latent variables: corporate social responsibility (CSR), customer retention, customer trust, and customer relationship management performance. The current study used probability and random sampling techniques. It conducted the questionnaire survey to collect data form managers of SMEs in Ningxia province of China. The Partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) technique was used for this study. As a result, a total of 150 respondents were usable for these questionnaires. The study revealed that corporate social responsibility and customer retention have a positive effect on customer relationship management performance. Moreover, customer trust has been examined that it had a positive effect on customer relationship management performance. In addition, customer trust was discovered as a partial mediation between the relationship of corporate social responsibility, customer retention, and customer relationship management performance. Furthermore, based on the samples analyzed, the proposed model seems to be fitted considerably well. Therefore, this study intends to contribute to a better understanding of factors influencing customer relationship management performance in Chinese SMEs, thereby providing companies with practical ideas to improve overall performance.

Does the Confucianism in audit firms enhance the corporate ESG Disclosure?

This paper examines the role of Confucian culture characterized by traditional virtues such as benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trust in audit firms and corporate ESG disclosure. Using data from Chinese A-share listed companies from 2008 to 2021, we found that Confucian culture in audit firms significantly promotes the level of corporate ESG disclosure. We also tested the moderating effect of regional culture and corporate culture, and found that in regions with stronger merchant guild culture and higher levels of social trust, as well as in companies with a stronger culture of integrity and cooperation, the promotion effect of Confucian culture in audit firms on corporate ESG disclosure is more pronounced. Furthermore, we discovered that the closer the geographical distance between audit firms and client companies, the greater the positive impact of Confucian culture in audit firms on corporate ESG disclosure. Overall, this study reveals the modern value of Confucian traditional culture for the improvement of enterprises’ environmental friendly behaviors from the perspective of external audit, and highlighted the relevance of informal institutions in corporate governance.

Does digital transformation in enterprises reduce debt default risk?

With the rapid advancement of digital technology, the digital transformation of enterprises has become essential for enhancing competitiveness and achieving sustainable development. This paper aims to systematically examine the impact of digital transformation on debt default risk, using A-share listed companies from 2010 to 2022 as the research sample. The findings indicate that digital transformation significantly reduces the risk of debt default, and this conclusion is supported by a series of robustness tests. Heterogeneity analysis based on firm-specific characteristics reveals that companies with higher returns on assets, higher R&D investment, larger scale, higher debt-to-asset ratio, greater regional social trust, and higher information transparency experience a more pronounced risk mitigation effect from digital transformation. Mechanism tests demonstrate that digital transformation primarily lowers debt default risk through two channels: alleviating financing constraints and improving total factor productivity. Digital transformation more effectively reduces corporate debt default risk through foundational technologies compared to practical applications. These conclusions contribute to a deeper understanding of how digital transformation drives high-quality development in enterprises and provide a comprehensive assessment of the implementation effects of digital transformation.

Recommending cloud services based on social trust: An overview

AbstractThe continued expansion and development of the business requires great computing power and massive data storage systems. Cloud services deliver these resources in a simple, flexible and secure way. There is now a wide range of similar cloud services with different capabilities, which requires a recommendation system. Recommendation based on Quality of Service (QoS) is the first generation of service recommendation systems that only takes into account the rating information of all users without distinction. However, these systems suffer from many shortcomings, such as cold start and data sparsity issues, as well as poor accuracy and reliability of recommendation results. To address these issues and improve the quality of recommendations, a new generation of recommender systems has emerged, such as context‐aware, domain‐specific, and trust‐aware recommender systems. These systems now focus more on how to leverage social data generated from user interactions with each other in social networks to recommend more suitable and reliable services in response to user needs. Due to the importance of considering trust in cloud environments, this study aims to provide an overview of the research on trust‐based cloud service recommendation approaches proposed so far and highlights the current trend towards use new technologies such as deep learning to deal with certain challenges.

Exploring Cultural Capital in the College and Financial Aid Decision Process for the GEAR UP Federal Grant Program

This qualitative study investigates the relationship between cultural capital and financial aid in college decision-making through use of an updated model based on Perna’s (2006) cultural capital model, focusing on decision-making influences within the habitus layer. Researchers conducted focus groups and interviews, yielding (N=15) GEAR UP scholarship recipient participants. Findings from this study evidence the importance of personal and social networks, individual intuition, and trust in college decision-making, with these components often cited more frequently than traditionally cited factors beyond the habitus layer. This study serves as a model for investigating student decision-making, highlighting the importance of uplifting student voice, and as an initial investigation into the ways in which college-going students’ decision-making practices are changing.