Vertical Trust Within Organizations and Performance: A Systematic Review

Abstract

The concept of trust within organizations, or intra-organizational trust, has been considered as a potential mechanism to increase performance and as such, has attracted growing interest in the organizational literature. However, despite the increasing number of studies examining the relationship between intra-organizational trust and performance, this apparently positive link has not been consistently confirmed by empirical research, and a deeper understanding is called for. Moreover, the literature on the trust-performance link is highly fragmented and dispersed. This study carries out a systematic review of the evidence, focusing on the vertical dimension of intra-organizational trust and performance relationship in an attempt to provide an integrative picture of the existing literature and to propose new research avenues on the topic. Specifically, this systematic review delves deeper into the antecedents, mediating effects and moderators of vertical intra-organizational trust and performance, providing a more comprehensive framework for these relationships.

The Role of Employee Relations in Shaping Job Satisfaction as an Element Promoting Positive Mental Health at Work in the Era of COVID-19

“…In an organizational context, trust is an effective predictor of positive attitudes and behavior of employees [64]. The results of previous research indicate that interpersonal trust positively influences the effectiveness and performance within an organization [65], commitment [66], collaboration [67], improving organisational loyalty [68], resistance to change and reduced stress levels [69] and a decrease in employee turnover [70]. In addition, trust activates the learning process by generating social relationships using different communication channels [71].…”

We Trust You! A Multilevel-Multireferent Model Based on Organizational Trust to Explain Performance

“…Over a period of eight years, they found that organizational attitudes (i.e., job satisfaction and satisfaction with job security) predicted financial performance (i.e., ROA). In the systematic review done by Guinot and Chiva [ 17 ], they found that a significant number of studies confirmed a positive direct effect of vertical trust on job performance, although non-significant effects were also found for concrete contexts (e.g., non-Western cultures), specific measures of job performance (e.g., extra-role performance), and some types of subordinates and leaders. This systematic review concluded that there is a lack of empirical analysis of the mediating role that vertical trust plays in the team’s and organizational performance, and that future studies should continue to analyze the differences in this direct relationship according to the leadership referent of trust (i.e., trust in top leaders, like in the current study).…”

“…Finally, although there is not much research on trust as a psychological mechanism that explains cross-levels effects between antecedents and consequences of trust [ 17 ], based on social exchange theory, we could expect that higher levels of healthy organizational practices positively influence employees’ levels of trust in their top management (vertical trust) which in turn enhance team performance. In addition, these practices could also influence horizontal trust, and in turn, enhance team performance too (as a way of showing reciprocity).…”

“…They also claim that there is still a lack of evidence about how to enhance trust at multiple levels within organizations, and about the relationship between organizational and team trust and different business outcomes, such as performance. In another recent systematic review about vertical trust and performance on a sample of 75 studies, Guinot and Chiva [ 17 ] concluded that “future studies should examine trust across different referents and levels of analysis to discover unique effects on performance” (p. 218). Organizations are essentially multilevel systems, and trust operates at different levels (i.e., individual, team, and organizational levels).…”

Transformational leadership and human resource development: Linking employee learning, job satisfaction, and organizational performance

“…Specifically, organizational HRD culture encompasses OD, T&D, CD, coaching, and related activities, all of which include critical organizational outcomes of performance and learning (Swanson & Holton, 2009). Performance is most often described to be multilayered whereby organizations measure the degree they accomplish their goals effectively and efficiently at the individual, team, organizational, and external stakeholder levels (Guinot & Chiva, 2019). Learning, on the other hand, aims to enable employees to deal with the challenges of the daily tasks (Sparr, Knipfer, & Willems, 2017).…”